Brigham Young 1856-1860.
THE POWERS OF THE PRIESTHOOD NOT GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD--THE
NECESSITY OF LIVING BY REVELATION--THE ABUSE OF BLESSINGS.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, January 27, 1856.
I am thankful for the privilege of again appearing here before the
brethren and sisters. A few of us have been absent for a short time, and,
in our absence, I hope and trust you have been blessed with the Holy
Spirit of the Lord. I pray for the continuance of the light of that
Spirit to rest upon the Saints, this I crave continually for myself and
for all who profess to be Saints of the Most High.
As I have frequently thought, and said, when duty requires I am happy
in going from home, and I am happy in returning, for it is my greatest joy
and comfort to do what the Lord requires of me, and what I know to be my
duty, no matter what it is if the Lord requires it of me. This course
gives joy and peace. When this principle becomes the acting principle of
all the Saints, we shall find that Zion is here; we shall be in the midst
of it; we shall enjoy it.
As individuals, we enjoy Zion at present, but not as a community;
there is so much sin, darkness, and ignorance, and the veil of the
covering which is over the nations of the earth is measurably over the
Latter-day Saints. The same unrighteous principles, which becloud the
minds of men universally, more or less becloud the minds of the Latter-day
Saints. Though the veil is partially broken to the Saints, though it
becomes thin, as it were, and the twilight appears like the dawning of the
day, yet we may travel for many years before the sunshine appears. It
does not yet appear to this people, they are merely in the twilight.
As one expressed it in ancient times, "We see through a glass
darkly"--through a smoked or dim glass--through which we cannot behold
objects clearly with the natural eye.
We have not faith sufficient to have revelation, to have the visions
of eternity opened unto us so clearly that we may see things as they are,
consequently, we have to live by faith and not by sight. We have to live
by the principles of the Gospel, which is faith in the heart and obedience
to its requirements. It is our joy and salvation that we have this
privilege.
If we could understand the nature of the Priesthood--could comprehend
it fully, this people, as a community, the Elders, as Elders of Israel,
quorums, as quorums, when they present themselves before the Lord, would
possess keys to unlock the treasury of heaven, and we could receive as one
person receives from another. To us, as a people, the keys of the rich
storehouse of the Lord are committed, yet we do not fully know how to
unlock and receive. We receive a little here and there, and the hearts of
the people are comforted by the very Priesthood we are in possession of,
which has been given to this people for the express purpose of their
receiving that which God has given them, though not yet to possess it
independently, but as means for trial.
This Priesthood is given to the people, and the keys thereof, and,
when properly understood, they may actually unlock the treasury of the
Lord, and receive to their fullest satisfaction. But through our own
weaknesses, through the frailty of human nature, we are not yet capable of
doing so.
We have to humble ourselves and become like little children in our
feelings--to become humble and childlike in spirit, in order to receive
the first illuminations of the spirit of the Gospel, then we have the
privilege of growing, of increasing in knowledge, in wisdom, and in
understanding. This is a great privilege, while the world, excepting this
people who inhabit these valleys, and those that are associated with us in
different parts of the earth, are destitute of this principle and
privilege. Still, many of us, and I may say comparatively all of us, are
upon the same ground, situated precisely like other professors of
religion, in order that we may struggle, wrestle, and strive, until the
Lord bursts the veil and suffers us to behold His glory, or a portion of
it.
If we did fully understand the principles of the Gospel--the keys of
the Priesthood, it would be familiar with us, and be easy to be understood
and to act upon and perform, and be no more of a miracle to know how to
receive the things of God by revelation, than it is now a miracle to cast
seed into the ground, after it is prepared, and reap our crops.
An individual who holds a share in the Priesthood, and continues
faithful to his calling, who delights himself continually in doing the
things God requires at his hands, and continues through life in the
performance of every duty, will secure to himself not only the privilege
of receiving, but the knowledge how to receive the things of God, that he
may know the mind of God continually; and he will be enabled to discern
between right and wrong, between the things of God and the things that are
not of God. And the Priesthood--the Spirit that is within him, will
continue to increase until it becomes like a fountain of living water;
until it is like the tree of life; until it is one continued source of
intelligence and instruction to that individual.
This is one of the most glorious and happy principles than can be set
before any people, or any individual who will be faithful to his God and
to his religion. Upon whoever are bestowed the keys of the eternal
Priesthood, by a faithful life, will secure to themselves power to see the
things of God, and will understand them as plainly as they ever understood
anything by gazing upon it with their natural eyes, or as clearly as they
ever could distinguish one object from another by their sensations.
It is the privilege of every person who is faithful to the
Priesthood, who can overcome the enemy, thwart the design of death, or him
that hath the power of it, to live upon the earth until their appointed
time; and they may know, see, and understand, by revelation, the things of
God just as naturally as we understand natural things that are around us.
We inquire, is this the character of the people called Latter-day
Saints? We can say it is the character of many of them, but when we
reflect, it is not the case with the whole of them. There are many who
never fail to improve upon every means of grace given them, upon every
particle of light imparted to them. They perform every duty that is made
known to them, they cease to do evil wherever an evil is presented to
them, they refrain, so far as is in their power, from every act and from
every thought and disposition which is contrary to the holy Gospel.
Again, when we look around we see many, very many, men and women who
profess to know the things of God, to belong to His family, to the Church
of the First-Born--the Church of Jesus Christ, who are ofttimes wrought
upon by the Holy Spirit of the Gospel which has caused them to rejoice
therein, who give thanks to their God, rejoice with joy unspeakable, and
you would think they were very near the kingdom of heaven--near the
threshold of the gate which opens into the presence of the Father and the
Son, and yet, if anything crosses them, will give way to an evil temper;
and if anything is presented to them which they do not understand, they
condemn it at once; they are ready to pass judgment upon that which they
do not understand. If they are crossed by their friends and families they
are ready to speak by the spirit of evil, by the spirit of contention;
they are ready to receive a little malice in their hearts. They do all
this, they turn round and repent of it, they are sorry for it, and they
say they will try to do better, will try to overcome their passions, or
the temptations of the evil one in their natures. You see them again,
have they kept themselves pure? No they have not, but they have given way
to evil, to a little dishonesty, falsifying, shading of sentiment,
speeches, sayings, and doings of their neighbors. They have given way to
anger, and will remark, "It is true I got angry, I was overcome, true I
acted the fool, but I mean to refrain from so doing in the future." And
thus they live for a spell, but how long will it be before they are again
overtaken in fault? Then if a delusive spirit, professedly a righteous
one, is cast into a neighborhood, how easy such people are decoyed by it,
led away by it.
At one time you see them as enthusiastic as mortals can be, in what
they call righteous principles, and hear them saying, "I have more light
now than I ever had before in my life, I am better now than I ever was, I
am filled with the Holy Spirit."
This is the way we often find them, they are rejoiced exceedingly and
are upon Pisgah's top--flaming Latter-day Saints, and, perhaps, when the
next day or the next week has passed over they are angry, filled with
malice and wrath. After a while they will say, "That was a delusive
spirit, it is true I felt joyful and happy, I thought it was the best
spirit and the most light I ever enjoyed in all the days of my life, but I
now find I was deceived, I find that if I had continued in that spirit
there was a trap laid to catch me, to decoy me away, and destroy my faith
in the holy Gospel." Is this the case with the Latter-day Saints? Yes,
with many of them.
Our religion is a practical and progressive one. It will not prepare
a thief, a liar, a sorcerer, a whoremonger, an adulterer, a murderer, or a
false swearer, in one day, so that he can enter into the celestial kingdom
of God. We ought to understand that when our lives have been filled with
all manner of wickedness, to turn and repent of our sins, to be baptized
for the remission of them, and have our names witten [sic] upon the Church
records, does not prepare us for the presence of our Father, and elder
brother. What will? A continuation of faithfulness to the doctrines of
Christ; nothing short of this will do it. The Latter-day Saints should
understand this. Do they? Yes. Do they live to it? A great many of
them do not. All ought to live their religion every day, and there are a
great many who do. But there are a great many who do not, who are
overcome with evil, get out of the true path of righteousness, and do
those things which are wrong. They contend with each other, quarrel, have
broils and difficulties in families, and in neighborhoods, law with each
other touching property, one saying, "This is mine," and another saying,
"It is not yours, but it is mine." One says, "You have wronged me," the
other says, "I have not." Thus there are thousands of plans which the
enemy of all righteousness employs to decoy the hearts of the people away
from righteousness.
If this people would live their religion, and continue year after
year to live their religion, it would not be many years before we would
see eye to eye; there would be no difference of opinion, no difference of
sentiment, and the veil that now hangs over our minds would become so thin
that we should actually see and discern things as they are.
True we labor under many embarrassments with regard to our progress
in Christian life, and it is right we should be situated just as we are.
We wish to save the world of mankind, and difficulties, embarrassments,
and obstacles are thrown in our way continually. If this congregation
could live twenty years without communion and intercourse with any other
people, if we did not preach any more to the world, and no more Saints
were gathered from abroad, we might, perhaps, train ourselves so as to see
eye to eye, and that too before we had lived as many years to come as this
Church has been organized.
But no, if we are instructed now, and understand all it is our
privilege to understand, another year we must have another batch of clay
thrown in the mill, as brother Kimball calls it, and this new supply
spoils more or less of the clay that is already well tempered, and it is
right that it should be so. Though this is a good comparison--the making
of vessels out of clay, and the grinding up of clay, still, is it in every
respect correct? We might carry it out perhaps, but I argue, and believe
with all my soul, that if there were 10,000 Saints to emigrate to this
point yearly from England, or any other country, and though thousands of
the wicked should gather with them, it would not prove, for one moment,
that any Saint would be obliged to sin thereby; it would not prove, for
one moment, that this congregation before me would be obliged to do wrong.
Though we may be mingled together, and our interchanges are as they
are, still if a stranger should look upon us as a community, who have been
here many years, and see but few of the new comers do wrong, and then
judge us off and say, we are all evil, that none of us are righteous, that
there is no good fruit here, that would be an unrighteous judgment and
decision.
It is our privilege, for you and me to live, from this day, so that
our consciences will be void of offence towards God and man; it is in our
power to do so, then why don't we? What is the matter? I will tell you
what the difficulties and troubles are, by relating brother John Young's
dream. He dreamed that he saw the devil with a looking-glass in his hand,
and the devil held it to the faces of the people, and it revealed to them
everybody's faults but their own.
The difficulty is, neglecting to watch over ourselves. Just as soon
as our eyes are turned away from watching ourselves, to see whether we do
right, we begin to see faults in our neighbors; this is the great
difficulty, and our minds become more and more blinded until we become
entirely darkened. So long as I do the thing the Lord requires of me, and
do not stop to inquire what I shall tell to my neighbor as his duty, and
pay very close attention to my individual person, that my words are right,
that my actions are right before God, that my reflections are right, and
that my desires are according to the holy Gospel, I have not much time to
look at the faults of my neighbors. Is not this true?
This is our practical religion; it is our duty to stop and begin to
look at ourselves. We may have trials to pass through, and when people
come to me, and tell me that they are wonderfully tried and have a great
may [sic] difficulties to encounter--have their troubles on the right and
on the left, and what to do they are at a loss to know, I say, "I am glad
of it." I rejoice to think that they must have trials as well as other
people. And when they say, "It seems as though the devil would overcome
me," it is a pretty good evidence that an individual is watching himself.
If people could always understand the manifestations of the Spirit
upon themselves, they would learn that they can be tempted as well as
other people, and that would make them careful to watch against temptation
and overcome it. Consequently, I rejoice for them, inasmuch as every
individual who is prepared for the celestial kingdom must go through the
same things.
I am happy, brethren, for the privilege of having temptation. A
great many people have thought that in my life I was not tempted like
other men. I tell them if I am it is none of their business; it is
nothing to them. Some say "Brother Brigham, you slide along and the devil
lets you alone." If I have battles with him, I can overcome him single
handed quicker than to call in my neighbors to help me. If I am tempted
to speak an evil word, I will keep my lips locked together. Says one, "I
do not know about that, that would be smothering up bad feelings, I am
wonderfully tried about my neighbor, he has done wrong, he has abused me
and I feel dreadful bad about it. Had I not better let it out than to
keep it rankling within me?" No. I will keep bad feelings under and
actually smother them to death, then they are gone. But as sure as I let
them out they will live and afflict me. If I smother them in myself, if I
actually choke them to death, destroy the life, the power, and vigor
thereof, they will pass off and leave me clear of fault, and pure, so far
as that is concerned; and no man or woman on earth knows that I have ever
been tempted to indulge in wicked feelings. Keep them to yourselves.
If you feel evil, keep it to yourselves until you overcome that evil
principle. This is what I call resisting the devil, and he flees from me.
I strive to not speak evil, to not feel evil, and if I do, to keep it to
myself until it is gone from me, and not let it pass my lips.
You should succeed in bringing your tongues into subjection, so as to
never let them speak evil, so that they will perfectly obey your judgment
and the discretion God has given you, and are perfectly obedient to the
will of the holy Gospel. How long have we to live for that? I do not
know, but I am strongly of the opinion that it is possible for a person to
overcome their dispositions to evil, to such a degree that they will have
no evil in the heart to slip out over the tongue; and if there is none in
the heart, there is less danger of the tongue being used to the
disadvantage of that individual, or to that of anybody else. If there is
nothing in the heart which governs us, and controls to an evil effect, the
tongue of itself will never produce evil.
Quite a number of us have returned from our southern mission, and as
I have given you a few of my views with regard to some of the particular
parts of our religion, I say for myself, and for the rest of my brethren
who have been absent with me, we are happy to see you. I am, and I am
sure that the rest are glad of the privilege of standing before you again
in this house. I have nothing particular upon my mind, only to urge all
the Latter-day Saints to live their religion.
I might say something with regard to the hard times. You know that I
have told you that if any one was afraid of starving to death, let him
leave, and go where there is plenty. I do not apprehend the least danger
of starving, for until we eat up the last mule, from the tip of the ear to
the end of the fly whipper, I am not afraid of staving to death. There
are many people who cannot now get employment, but the spring is going to
open upon us soon, and we are not going to suffer any more than what is
for our good. I am thankful for the hand of the Lord which is visible; I
am as thankful for this providence of His as for any that I ever received.
I have told you, years ago, my feelings with regard to their sympathies,
their faith, gratitude, and thankfulness, and their acknowledgment of the
hand of the Lord and of the dispensations of His providence. My soul has
been grieved to bleeding, to see the waste, and the prodigal feeling of
this people in the use of their bountiful blessings. Many have walked
them underfoot, and have been ready to curse God who bestowed them. They
wanted gold and silver, instead of wheat and corn, and fine flour, and the
best vegetables that ever grew upon the earth. They walked them
underfoot, and set at nought the choice blessings of the Lord their God.
If I were to see those individuals obliged to gnaw the the [sic] ground in
order to get out the thistle roots, and have no fingers to dig them with,
it would not be a disagreeable sight to me, until they learn to know who
it is that feeds them.
We never ought to be without three or five years provisions on hand.
But when you see men run to hell to sell a bushel of wheat for sixty
cents, instead of laying it up in their granaries for a day of scarcity,
you are forced to conclude that they would trade with the very devil, to
get his coat and shoes in exchange for their wheat. I hope they will
learn wisdom in the future, and lay up wheat to feed the brethren when
they come here from distant countries. If they will learn wisdom now, I
will promise them, in the name of Israel's God, that the earth will yield
its abundance, as it has heretofore. Men in these valleys have reaped
crop after crop which grew spontaneously, without putting a drag or a plow
in the land, and yet they are ready to curse God for His blessings. How
do you suppose the Lord feels? If He were no better than I am, He would
chastise us far more severely than we have been. I will give way to
others.
ETERNAL INCREASE OF KNOWLEDGE--NECESSITY OF CLEAVING TO EVERY GOOD
PRINCIPLE--MEN ARE NOT MADE SAINTS BY MIRACULOUS GIFTS, BUT THROUGH
OBEYING THE TRUTH, AND OBTAINING THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, February 17, 1856.
We have just heard brother Morley's testimony concerning the religion
that we have embraced. The extent of knowledge, incorporated within the
salvation extended to the children of men, will vastly exceed the
researches of the human family, and when they have passed the veil, they
will then understand that they have but just commenced to learn. Brother
Morley says he never expects to be too old to learn; I believe that
doctrine. That which is to be learned in the eternities of the Gods
pertains to life, and that life is exhibited to the human family in the
degree which they are capacitated to receive it, that they may be taught
as we teach our children, that they may learn the first rudiments of
eternal lives.
Could we live to the age of Methuselah, and eat the fruits which the
earth would produce in her strength, as did Adam and Eve before the
transgression, and spend our lives in searching after the principles of
eternal life, we would find, when one eternity had passed to us, that we
had been but children thus far, babies just commencing to learn the things
which pertains to the eternities of the Gods.
We might ask, when shall we cease to learn? I will give you my
opinion about it; never, never. If we continue to learn all that we can,
pertaining to the salvation which is purchased and presented to us through
the Son of God, is there a time when a person will cease to learn? Yes,
when he has sinned against God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the
Holy Ghost--God's minister; when he has denied the Lord, defied Him and
committed the sin that in the Bible is termed the unpardonable sin--the
sin against the Holy Ghost. That is the time when a person will cease to
learn, and from that time forth, will descend in ignorance, forgetting
that which they formerly knew, and decreasing until they return to the
native element, whether it be one thousand or in one million years, or
during as many eternities as you can count. They will cease to increase,
but must decrease, until they return to the native element. These are the
only characters who will ever cease to learn, both in time and eternity.
A number of items occupy my mind pertaining to the Saints, I may say,
a great many more than I could tell in one day, in one month, or in one
year. Those who are well acquainted with me, know something of the action
of my mind. To explain it, let me say to you, if you wish to tell me a
long story, one that will take you two hours to get through with, a key
word will at once give me an understanding of all you could say, in that
long time. All who are acquainted with me know this, [sic-punc] Bring
any business matter before me, and the brethren with whom I am associated
in business transactions, know that I need but a word to know the nature
of it. So it is with regard to my preaching to the people. If I could
put into them the same spirit and understanding which I have, they could
see and understand things without a long detail of explanation. But this
is not the case with all the people, therefore I am, in a manner,
compelled to use the time I do in speaking to them upon the various
subjects, at least so far as I can possibly spare it. If I were disposed
to, I could train myself to get up here and take a text and explain it,
and dwell upon one little item just as long as any other man, but what is
the use of it? Upon this principle it would take us more eternities than
we shall ever see, to learn what we have to learn, consequently, when I
speak to you I speak the few words I have to say, as I already have upon
the subject of intelligence and learning.
We shall never cease to learn, unless we apostatize from the religion
of Jesus Christ. Then we shall cease to increase, and will continue to
decrease and decompose, until we return to our native element. Can you
understand that? It is a subject worthy the attention of the eminent
divines of Christendom, and they may search into it until they are tired,
and still know comparatively little about it, while I preach it to you in
a few words.
I will here introduce a subject that we all should be acquainted
with, I allude to morality. Have you been taught morality? Yes, every
one of you have been taught not to use profane language, to be honest in
all your dealings, to be courteous to all at home and abroad, and to be
strictly upright on all occasions. All this you have been taught from
your youth.
Many think that all which was taught them by their fathers and
mothers, school teachers and priests, ought to be removed, laid aside,
dispensed with, and that they should begin anew to learn every principle
of civilization. This is a great mistake. I make these remarks because I
have heard Elders preach that there was not a sectarian priest--not a man
living upon the earth, or that had lived upon it, neither a reformer nor a
professed Christian, from the time the Priesthood was taken from the earth
until Joseph Smith came, but what went straight to hell fire when he died.
Yes, I have heard them preach just as absurdly as that. I have heard many
say, I will dispense with this, and I will dispense with that; and many of
our Elders actually dispense with praying, and say it is nothing but a
sectarian notion. Were you taught by your fathers to pray? "Yes, but
that is a sectarian notion." Were you taught not to pilfer? "Yes, but we
think, we wont say it aloud, it is nothing but a sectarian notion, and we
have to learn everything over again." This is a mistaken idea. There is
only one thing which the people lack on this point, in order that their
traditions and former education may do them good, and that is to know how
to seer the good from the bad, how to assimilate to themselves every good
trait of character they have seen in their fathers and mothers, teachers
and neighbors, and every good thing that has been taught them from their
youth, and how to gather to themselves every good principle they have been
traditionated in, and store that up as their individual property, and then
dispense with every erroneous idea and every inconsistency. Many things
which have been taught us in our childhood, or in our early lives, are
truly inconsistent, lay them aside and cleave to the traditions which
actually tend to virtue, holiness, chastity, loveliness, kindness,
honesty, and truthfulness in every respect, and gather all the good into
our own store house, and let each one say, that belongs to me.
Some imagine that they must begin and unlearn the whole of their
former education, but I say, cling to all the good that you have learned,
and discard the bad. This leads me into a field, the gate to which I wish
to have closed up, locked up, and passed by; I do not wish to say anything
about it. I will say this much, however, if there are not all kinds of
fish in this Gospel net, I should like to see the kind that is not in it,
and I think that would be something new under the sun.
Treasure up in your hearts that which tends to virtue. You say, "I
want an explanation upon virtue." I wish I could so give it to you, that
you could understand it when I am done talking; I will do my best to do
so. Learn the will of God, keep His commandments and do His will, and you
will be a virtuous person. Can you understand that? If you can know the
will of God and do it, you will be a virtuous person. You say, "Perhaps I
should be led to do that which is contrary to my former traditions, and to
do that which is really wrong." No matter anything about that; if you can
know the will of God and do it, you will be a virtuous person, and will
receive knowledge upon knowledge, and wisdom upon wisdom, and you will
increase in understanding, in faith, and in the light of eternity, and
know how to discriminate between the right and the wrong. I know the
people say that that [sic] they do not understand, that they do not know
what the Lord requires of them. I say keep the commandments of the Lord.
We were taught that the commandments of the Lord were this, that, and the
other, in our former lives, but when we can know and understand, by the
revelations of Jesus Christ, the will of our Father in heaven and do His
will, He will make us pure and holy, and fit for the society of angels and
Himself. Will we not be virtuous then? yes, in the highest sense. Many
say, "I don't know the will of the Lord, I wish I did. I do really wish I
knew what the Lord requires of me, but I do not know, and do not know how
to find out."
I will now refer you to the scripture. [sic-punc] where it reads that
we shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body. If I do not
know the will of my Father, and what He requires of me in a certain
transaction, if I ask Him to give me wisdom concerning any requirement in
life, or in regard to my own course, or that of my friends, my family, my
children, or those that I preside over, and get no answer from Him, and
then do the very best that my judgment will teach me, He is bound to own
and honor that transaction, and He will do so to all intents and purposes.
I have often reflected, with regard to people knowing the mind and will of
the Lord by revelation. My thoughts turn within me in a moment, in my
reflections upon what has hitherto been, and that which actually now comes
before me, concerning the Saints in the last days and in the former days.
For instance, Jesus, when upon the earth, called twelve men to be
witnesses that he was the Christ. Then, there were a great many others
who believed that fact, but he showed to those twelve men things that he
showed to none else; he convinced them in a degree that he convinced no
other person, that is, in some instances.
My mind then reflects, in a moment, did Jesus have the power to make
his disciples believe that he was the Son of God by raising the dead, by
laying hands on the sick, by walking on water, by multiplying the
particles of bread and fish set before the multitude, or by any other
miracle? Did he convince, and prove to twelve men that he was the Christ,
by the miracles he performed? He did not. He did not convince them by
one or all of the acts, which were called miracles, that he performed upon
the earth. I know that many think that they are a great proof, that it is
astonishing that people will not believe, when they read over the history
and miracles performed in the days of Jesus and his Apostles. Let me tell
you that if his Apostles were here in this our day, travelling through the
country, raising the dead, laying hands on the sick, casting out devils,
walking upon the water, or doing whatever they might be able to perform,
it would all be no proof to the people that they were sent of God. I know
that some of you think this is strange, and if so, I have strange views
upon these subjects. It is no proof to me, it is no proof to any person
else, and often serves to throw persons, relying upon it, into temptation,
and to cast them still further into darkness. "Have you any proof of
this?" Yes, right here in our midst. Men who have professedly seen the
most, known and understood the most, in this Church, and who have
testified in the presence of large congregations, in the name of Israel's
God, that they have seen Jesus, &c., have been the very men who have left
this kingdom, before others who had to live by faith. I have a witness
right before me, and I am fearful every time that a man or woman comes to
me and relates great visions, saying, "I have had a vision, an angel came
and told me thus and so; the visions of eternity were opened, and I saw
thus and so; I saw my destiny; I saw what the brethren would do with me; I
foresay this and that. Look out for that man or woman going to the devil.
I ask, is there a reason for men and women being exposed more
constantly and more powerfully, to the power of the enemy, by having
visions than by not having them?" There is and it is simply this--God
never bestows upon His people, or upon an individual, superior blessings
without a severe trial to prove them, to prove that individual, or that
people, to see whether they will keep their covenants with Him, and keep
in remembrance what He has shown them. Then the greater the vision, the
greater the display of the power of the enemy. And when such individuals
are off their guard they are left to themselves, as Jesus was. For this
express purpose the Father withdrew His spirit from His son, at the time
he was to be crucified. Jesus had been with his Father, talked with Him,
dwelt in His bosom, and knew all about heaven, about making the earth,
about the transgression of man, and what would redeem the people, and that
he was the character who was to redeem the sons of earth, and the earth
itself from all sin that had come upon it. The light, knowledge, power,
and glory with which he was clothed were far above, or exceeded that of
all others who had been upon the earth after the fall, consequently at the
very moment, at the hour when the crisis came for him to offer up his
life, the Father withdrew Himself, withdrew His Spirit, and cast a vail
over him. That is what made him sweat blood. If he had had the power of
God upon him, he would not have sweat blood; but all was withdrawn from
him, and a veil was cast over him, and he then plead with the Father not
to forsake him. "No," says the Father, "you must have your trials, as
well as others."
So when individuals are blessed with visions, revelations, and great
manifestations, look out, then the devil is nigh you, and you will be
tempted in proportion to the vision, revelation, or manifestation you have
received. Hence thousands, when they are off their guard, give way to the
severe temptations which come upon them, and behold they are gone.
You will recollect that I have often told you that miracles would not
save a person, and I say that they never should. If I were to see a man
come in here this day, and say, "I am the great one whom the Lord has
sent," and cause fire to come down in our sight, through the ceiling that
is over our heads, I would not believe any more for that. It is no matter
what he does, I cannot believe any more on that account. What will make
me believe? What made the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ witnesses?
What constituted them Apostles--special witnesses to the world? Was it
seeing miracles? No. What was it? The visions of their minds were
opened, and it was necessary that a few should receive light, knowledge,
and intelligence, that all the powers of earth and hell could not gainsay
or compete with. That witness was within them, and yet, after all that
was done for them, after all that Jesus showed them, and after all the
power of the spirit of revelation which they possessed, you find that one
of them apostatized, turned away and sold his Lord and master for thirty
pieces of silver, in consequence of his not being firm to his covenant in
the hour of darkness and temptation. Another of them was ready to say, "I
do not know anything about the Lord Jesus Christ," and denied him with
cursing and swearing.
Some are apt now to say, "I don't know anything about this Mormonism,
I don't know about the Priesthood." Did you not once know? "I thought I
did." Did you not once know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet? "I thought
I did." Did you not once know that this was the kingdom of God set up on
the earth? "I thought I did, but now I find myself deceived." What is
the reason? Because they give way to temptation; they may have had great
light, knowledge, and understanding, the vision of their minds may have
been opened and eternity exhibited to their view, but when this is closed
up, in proportion to the light given to them, so is the darkness that
comes upon them to try them.
Are you going to apostatize when you are in darkness? That is the
time to stand firm. I know there are some people right in our midst, only
about on a par with good quakers; say they "I pray when I feel like it."
Have you prayers in your families? "Yes, sometimes, but I do not always
feel like praying, and then I feel as though it would be a sin."
Let me tell you how you should do. If you feel that you are tempted
not to open your mouth to the Lord, and as though the heavens are brass
over your heads and the earth iron beneath you feet, and that every thing
is closed up, and you feel that it would be a sin for you to pray, then
walk up to the devil and say, Mr. Devil, get out of my way; and if you
feel that you cannot get down upon your knees for fear you will swear,
say, get down knees; and if they don't feel right when they are down, put
something under them, some sharp sticks, for instance, and say, knees come
to it. "But I dare not open my mouth," says one, "for fear that I shall
swear." Then say, open, mouth, and now tongue, begin. Cannot I say
Father? Yes, I can: I learned that in the days of my youth. Suppose you
say, "Father, look in mercy upon me," do you think the devil is going to
snap you up then? If he is still by, and you dare not open your eyes for
fear you will see him, tell him to stand there until you have done
praying, and bring the body to a state of submission.
I have taught you that the spirit is pure, when it comes into the
tabernacle. The tabernacle is subject to sin, but the spirit is not. A
great many think that the spirits of the children of men, when they enter
the tabernacles, are totally depraved; this is a mistake. They are as
holy as the angels; the devil has no power to contaminate them, he only
contaminated the bodies. When your spirit wishes to worship the Father,
and your body is so full of weakness or wickedness, that you feel as
though you could not do it, go to and bring your body into subjection; bow
the knee and confess that Jesus is the Christ, if it is darker that 10,000
midnights in your minds; say, "I am for the Lord anyhow."
That makes me think of a great many Christians in the world; when
they are sick and in trouble they will pray; if they are in fear of
starving to death for want of good, of freezing through lack of raiment of
fuel, then they will call npon [sic] the Lord. I know the old Prophet
said, "In the day of trouble they draw nigh unto me." Get out, say I, in
my feelings, in regard to such a religion. When I am starving to death it
is time for me to be diligent in getting something to eat; when the ship
is in a storm, it is then time to look out for the rigging. One may say,
"Are you not going down below to pray, in this dreadful storm?" "No, I
have no time to pray now, I must take care of the ship." So it should be
with every Latter-day Saint. By and bye the storm is over, then let us go
down into the cabin and do up our praying in fair weather. That is what
"Mormonism" teaches me; and when it is dark as midnight darkness, when
there is not one particle of feeling in my heart to pray, shall I then
say, I will not pray? No, but get down knees, bend yourselves upon the
floor, and mouth, open; tongue, speak; and we will see what will come
forth, and you shall worship the Lord God of Israel, even when you feel as
though you could not say a word in His favor. That is the victory we have
to gain; that is the warfare we have to wage. It is between the spirit
and the body; they are inseparably connected. The spirit was not made
here, it was organized in eternity, before the worlds were, with the
Father and with angels before they came here.
When the devil got possession of the earth, his power extended to
that which pertains to the earth. He obtained influence over the children
of men in their present organization, because the spirits of men yielded
to the temptations of the evil principle that the flesh or body is
subjected to. This causes the warfare spoken of by Paul, when he says,
"The spirit warreth against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit."
Paul explained it as well as he could, and I am trying to explain it as
well as I can. Often when the spirit would do good the body overcomes,
then one does the evil that brings into subjection the spirit. When the
spirits of men are subject to the body, and continue to be, and commit the
amount of evil necessary to fill up their cup, they are cast out and their
names will be blotted out from the Lamb's Book of Life.
You know that it used to be a great saying, and I might say worthy of
all acceptation, among the Methodists, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and
my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life." Their names were always
there, and never will be blotted out, though they may be up and down,
warm, hot, and cool, and though they may sin to-day, and to-morrow repent
of it, but their names will remain in the Lamb's Book of Life until they
sin the sin unto death. And when their names are once blotted out they
will never be written there again; they will then be numbered with those
who will cease to increase, cease to learn, to multiply, and spread
abroad.
But again to the witness, that is on my mind. It was necessary for
Jesus Christ to open the heavens to certain individuals that they might be
witnesses of his personage, death, sufferings, and resurrection; those men
were witnesses. But as Jesus appeared to the two brethren going out of
Jerusalem, he was made known to them in the breaking of bread. Now
suppose he had eaten that bread, and gone out without opening their eyes,
how could they have known that he was the Savior who had been crucified on
Mount Calvary? They could not; but in the breaking of bread the vision of
their minds was opened. This was necessary in order to constitute safe
witnesses, and they returned to Jerusalem and told the brethren what they
had seen.
When Jesus came and ate fish broiled upon the coals, and told his
disciples to cast the net on the other side of the ship, which they did
and got it so full that they could hardly draw it to shore, would they
have known that he was the Savior by the catching and hauling in a
wonderful quantity of fish, or by anything else that they could have seen
with their natural eyes? No, but when he came and ate the boiled fish and
honeycomb, he opened their eyes and they saw that he was present with
them. He had been back to his Father, had ascended to heaven and again
descended, and opened their minds that they might be special witnesses.
This is necessary. Did all the disciples, in the days of the Apostles,
see the risen Jesus? No. I know the inquiry may arise, can a person be a
real disciple without having visions? Yes, but that person cannot be a
special witness to the doctrine he believes in.
What makes true disciples to a doctrine, to a religion, to a creed,
or to a faith, no matter what it is which is subscribed to? To be
faithful adherents to those articles of faith or doctrine taught, makes
them true disciples to that religion or doctrine. Then if we have the
religion of the Savior we are entitled to the blessings precisely as they
were anciently. Not that all had visions, not that all had dreams, not
that all had the gift of tongues or the interpretation of tongues, but
every man received according to his capacity and the blessing of the
Giver. "Well, brother Brigham, have you had visions?" Yes, I have.
"Have you had revelations?" Yes, I have them all the time, I live
constantly by the principle of revelation. I never received one iota of
intelligence, from the letter A to what I now know, I mean that, from the
very start of my life to this time, I have never received one particle of
intelligence only by revelation, no matter whether father or mother
revealed it, or my sister, or neighbor.
No person receives knowledge only upon the principle of revelation,
that is, by having something revealed to them. "Do you have the
revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ?" I will leave that for others to
judge. If the Lord requires anything of this people, and speaks through
me, I will tell them of it; but if He does not, still we all live by the
principle of revelation. Who reveals? Every body around us; we learn of
each other. I have something which you have not, and you have something
which I have not; I reveal what I have to you, and you reveal what you
have to me. I believe that we are revelators to each other. Are the
heavens opened? Yes, to some at times, yet upon natural principles, upon
the principle of natural philosophy. "Do you know the will and mind of
the Lord?" Yes, concerning this people, and concerning myself. Do every
one of my brethren and sisters know the will of the Lord? Let me say to
the Latter-day Saints, if they will take up their cross and follow the
Lord Jesus Christ in the regeneration, many of them will receive more,
know more, and have more of the spirit of revelation than they are aware
of; but the revelations which I receive are all upon natural principles.
I will give you one revelation which I had in Far West, and it was upon
the same principle that it would be for me to have a revelation now, while
I am talking to you. It was in the spring of 1838, before there was any
disturbance in Far West, or in Davis County.
This people, thought I, are obnoxious to these Missourians, our
religion they hate, our Prophet they despise and would like to kill him;
they are ignorant of the things of God; they have received the precepts of
men and drank deep into them, and are so interwoven with their feelings
that the true religion of heaven cannot abide in their minds. Therefore I
saw, upon natural principles, that we would be driven from there, but
when, I did not know; but still it was plain to me that we would have to
leave the State, and that when we did leave it we would not go south,
north or west, but east, back to the other States. That I saw upon
natural principles, and I knew what those people were afraid of. I then
saw that we would go north, as a Church and people, and then to the west,
and that when they went to Jackson County, they would go from the west to
the east. Mark my words, write them down, this people, as a Church and
kingdom, will go from the west to the east. I can tell you more
concerning what I saw upon natural principles; I saw that this people
would have to gain a foothold, a strength, power, influence, and ability
to walk by themselves and to take care of themselves, and power to contend
with their enemies and overcome them, upon the same principle that the
whites did when they first came to America and overcame the Indians. Many
here do not know anything about the history of the early settling of
America.
New Orleans was one of the first places settled by the Europeans,
after North America was discovered. St. Louis was settled long before New
York, and in that region you can find apple trees two feet though,
standing among the oaks which are several feet in diameter. Did the first
settlers stay there? No, they were either killed or had to leave lest
they should be killed, with the exception of a few of the Spaniards who
intermarried and lived with the Indians. The whites had to leave and go
down the Mississippi river, and went round into Maine and Massachusetts,
and when they reached there the Indians said, "You are welcome to this
land:" a region where they have thirteen months of winter during each
year. I use that extravagant expression in order to convey an idea of the
rigor of the climate; but you talk about hard winters and snows here; in
comparison many of you know but little about them.
I can pick up scores of Yankees here who have lived in countries
where they could have fine orchards, and live like nabobs, and yet, in the
winter season often ride in their sleighs over fences five feet high. I
have rode over snow in the eastern states when it was fifteen feet deep.
To return to the subject; I said, upon natural principles, that this
people had to go to a country that the Gentiles do not desire. I can tell
you another thing, when you see any member of this community wishing to
withdraw and go to where there is a beautiful country--where it is easy to
live, let me tell you that that man will apostatize, or be driven from his
favorite locality: write that down brother George as the word of the
Almighty.
I have deed after deed of land for which I did not get a cent when I
was obliged to leave it. I also built many houses in the states, they are
there now, for ought I know; they will fall down some of these days, and I
care not how quickly. This people can only gain strength upon the
principle of fleeing to a country where the wicked will not live, and
where they can gain strength enough to walk by themselves, and to go where
they please. This is one of the truths of heaven.
Whenever you see persons from this place on their way to a milder
climate, seeking a better home, they will apostatize or be driven from
their loved asylum; you may set that down for a fact. I saw that this
people would have to flee into the mountains, and into a climate and
country that the Gentiles would not desire. If we are not in such a
place, I do not know where we will find one more undesirable than this.
Do the Saints delight in this locality? No, it is repugnant to their
feelings, if they could have their choice. Did I come here by choice, or
was it not because I had to come? I like this country, and if it is not
bare enough, cold and disagreeable enough, to those who wish to live in
ease, we will find another location a little farther off. When we came
here we were one thousand miles from everybody. Are you afraid of the
Gentiles coming here? Should we all move from this city and give the
Gentiles liberty to occupy our houses, our farms, &c., in five years you
would not find them here; they could not live here, for this is not a
place that would suit them. If this is not the place for us to dwell, it
is not to be found in texas, in California, nor in old or new Mexico.
Where is it then? That is not for me nor you to inquire about, but it
will not be in any of those places. If we are not now in the right place,
the Lord will lead us to where we can gather up our strength, and multiply
and sanctify ourselves, so that we can go forth and serve the Lord with
clean hands and pure hearts.
I will now tell you a little more about the witnesses; I have strayed
some from that point, but I never bind myself while I am with the
brethren. If I were preaching abroad in the world I should feel myself
somewhat obliged, through custom, to adhere to the wishes and feelings of
the people in regard to pursuing the thread of any given subject, but here
I feel as free as air. You have gathered the idea from me that it is not
the miracles that are performed before a person's eyes that convince him
that one is of God, or of the devil; yet, if the Lord designs that a
person should heal the sick, that individual can do so; but is that to
convince the wicked that the operator is sent of God? No, it is a
blessing on the Saints, and the wicked have nothing to do with it, they
have no business to hear of it; that is for the Saints, it is especially
for their benefit, and theirs alone. What should the wicked hear? They
should hear a man testify that Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet of God,
that he was a good man, and that he did plant and establish the kingdom of
God on the earth, and we know it. "How shall I know?" says one. By
obeying the commandments given to you. The Lord has said, go into the
waters of baptism and be baptized for the remission of your sins, and you
shall receive a witness that I am telling you the truth. How? By baptism
and the laying on of hands alone? No. By seeing the sick healed? No,
but by the Spirit that shall come unto you through obedience, which will
make you feel like little children, and cause you to delight in doing
good, to love your father in heaven and the society of the righteous.
Have you malice and wrath then? No, it is taken from you, and you feel
like the child in its mother's lap. You will feel kind to your children,
to you brothers and sisters, to your parents and neighbors, and to all
around you; you will feel a glow, as of fire, burning within you. And if
you open your mouths to talk you will declare ideas which you did not
formerly think of; they will flow into your mind, even such as you have
not thought of for years. The Scriptures will be opened to you, and you
will see how clear and reasonable everything is which this or that Elder
teaches you. Your hearts will be comforted, you can lie down and sleep in
peace, and wake up with feelings as pleasant as the breezes of summer.
This is a witness to you. You ask the Lord to heal you, or your sick
child, and if He is disposed to do it He will, and if not it is all right.
If He is disposed to open the heavens and give us a visit from an angel,
it is all right. If He is disposed to reveal to us, by natural
philosophy, what is going to take place, that is right. If He is disposed
to show us by vision where this people are going, and when, all right, and
it is right if He withholds that information.
If, by the whispering of a small, still voice, He dictates you to do
this or that, showing you which is right and which is wrong, it is all
right, and it is right to acknowledge the hand of the Lord in His so
doing.
But if you had faith to go out to the graveyard and raise up scores
of the dead, that alone would not make you Latter-day Saints, neither if
the visions of your minds were opened so as to see the finger of God.
What will? Keeping the commandments of the Lord, to walk humbly before
your God, and before one another, to cease to do evil and learn to do
well, and to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; then
you are a Latter-day Saint, whether you have visions or not.
You may be tried and cast down, and be inclined to say that the Lord
has not revealed this or that to you, but that has nothing to do with me
or you. I do not desire to dictate the Lord in that matter; all I have to
do is to concern myself with the things He requires of me, for it is His
right to pursue His own way, and take His own time and course in dealing
with me. Can you gain a victory? You can.
As I have told you, your spirit is continually warring with the
flesh; you spirit dictates one way, your flesh suggests another, and this
brings on the combat. What are you to do? You must bring the hands, the
elbows, the feet, the tongue, and all the organs of speech and every power
of the body into subjection.
You must say that you will not swear, nor say or do anything which is
wrong. An elder was cut off from the Church here last Sunday for
swearing. What do I think of it? Time and time again have I requested
the High Priests and Seventies to cut off such members of their several
quorums as will break the Sabbath, and take the name of God in vain. I
say sever them from the tree, for these loose and wicked characters hurt
the tree. They are like dry limbs, and have become so decayed, that the
moisture leaks through them, and seeks its way into the heart of the tree,
and, by and bye, if we do not cut away such branches, the tree itself will
die.
I often think that the High Priests and Seventies dare not walk up
strictly to this duty, and I am disposed, at times, to imagine that some
of the presidents of those quorums are guilty of such things themselves.
Bring the names of such men to this stand and I will cut them off, if
no other person will, and ask no odds of the quorum, and you will go in
with me. Bring the names of men who take the name of God in vain and do
wrong in any way, and I will not ask for a High Council or Bishop's Court
to deliberate on their case; I will sever them from the tree of life, and
ask them what they are going to do about it. They will wither and die.
You may try to make dead limbe grow on the tree, but such a practics
[sic] is a detriment to the bearing of good fruit.
I want to talk a little more about the witnesses. I am a witness--of
what? I have told it here and in Nauvoo. I know what I am a witness of,
and I know my Apostleship. I am a witness that Joseph Smith was a Prophet
of God. What an uproar it would make in the Christian world to say, I am
an Apostle of Joseph. Write it down, and write it back to your friends in
the east, that I am an Apostle of Joseph Smith. He was a man of God and
had the revelations of Jesus Christ, and the words of Jesus Christ to the
people. He did build and establish the kingdom of God on earth, and
through him the Lord Almighty again restored the Priesthood to the
children of men.
Brethren, I am a witness of that; not by my laying hands on the sick
and they being healed, nor by the revelations which are given of him in
the Bible, but by receiving the same Spirit and witness which the ancients
received; by the visions of the heavens being opened to my mind; by my
understanding that which is revealed in the Book of Mormon, and that which
Joseph revealed as comprised in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.
I am a witness that those are the revelations of the Lord through
Joseph Smith, in this the last dispensation for the gathering of the
people; and all who reject my testimony will go to hell, so sure as there
is one, no matter whether it be hot or cold; they will incur the
displeasure of the Father and of the Son.
I am a witness of this; and all who will hear the voice of the
servants of God, pay attention to what they say, and obey the commandments
given to the people, shall receive a testimony and know that we tell them
the truth, that Joseph is a Prophet of God, and did actually finish the
work which the Lord gave him to do, sealed his testimony with his blood,
and has gone to dwell in the world of spirits, until he gets his body.
All will have to acknowledge that this is true.
There are many other things that might be noticed, and much more
might be said upon this subject. I have merely hinted at the witness, at
the privileges, blessings, and duties of the Saints, and at what makes a
Saint, but I feel as though I had talked long enough, or as much as I
should to-day. I have a bad cold, and could cough as well as the rest of
you, but I have been enabled to refrain from coughing since I have been
here, and during the brief time I have occupied while addressing you this
morning.
I hope and trust that we will order our lives so as to be worthy of
the blessings promised to us, and live to the glory of God, that we may
have a glorious resurrection, and enjoy each other's society in the
kingdom of our God. This is our constant prayer concerning you, in the
name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
LAWYERS, AND THOSE WHO PRACTISE ATTENDING LAW COURTS, REBUKED--A CURSE
PRONOUNCED UPON ALL WHO LOVE LITIGATION AND DO NOT REPENT.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, February 24, 1856.
So far as I am a judge of the true spirit of the Gospel, I think that
we have had that spirit manifested this morning, by brother Joseph Hovey,
in his expression of his feelings, and that too in his own natural way.
He is a blacksmith, carpenter stone cutter, wood chopper; or anything else
within his power, the particular channel of his operations depending
entirely upon counsel. Some of the brethren present are no doubt apprised
of the mission which brother Hovey has been engaged in during this present
winter; they may also be apprised that his course was found fault with
when he was in the county of Utah, and more especially while in a place
called Payson. While I was in Fillmore the brethren wrote to me
concerning the doings and sayings of brother Hovey, and in searching to
know the ground of the complaint against him, I learned that it amounted
to simply this--"If brother Hovey is let alone, the people will confess
their sins."
I wrote back to them, inquiring whether they thought there was any
danger of any persons confessing to more sin than he was guilty of; that
if they could find out that any had confessed to more stealing, swearing,
lying, and swindling, than they were really guilty of, it would be well to
give brother Hovey a word of caution, and to tell him to hold up a little
and not cause the innocent to belie themselves. At the same time I said,
that I thought there was not much danger of that, and that they might go
on in that course for some time longer, and not then have made all the
confessions that they ought to.
I asked brother Hovey to preach to-day, and to frankly express his
feelings as they really existed, that I might have a chance to understand
some of his "Mormonism." I wish to see the Elders get up here and
manifest their spirits, and speak as they feel when they are alone in
their meditations. Let us know how you feel, and what you think. We can
form some kind of an idea how a man feels by looking at him, but if you
wish a man to portray himself faithfully you must get him to talk, and I
will insure that the organs of speech will show out the true state of the
mind, sooner or later, and reveal the fruit of his heart. No man can hide
it if he is allowed to talk; he will be sure to manifest his true
feelings.
Brother Hovey has referred to several incidents in his experience. I
will refer to what I witnessed no longer ago than yesterday, in the
court-room. A lawyer rose to make his plea before the jury; he took up
the laws of Utah, which are strict and pointed in reference to lawyers
making pleas, binding them to fairly array the facts in the case, whether
they are for or against their clients, and he was so serious, so
religious, so pious, and so honest, that he appealed to high heaven to
witness his honesty before the jury. When he had induced the jury to
believe that he was honest, he stood there and misrepresented the merits
of the case, for half an hour at a stretch, in regular lawyer style.
Men will portray what is in their hearts, when they talk freely, and
they cannot keep from it. This is the way in which the Lord will exhibit
the hearts of the children of men. Will He take out their hearts and show
them to the people? No, for that would not exhibit the fruit of their
hearts; but He will draw them into circumstances which will compel them to
manifest what is in them. Let a man rise up here and talk, and freely
express his thoughts, and you can judge of what spirit he is.
We have just heard the words which give a manifestation of the spirit
of one of our missionaries, and I say now, as I have said before, I wish
we had hundreds of such missionaries throughout this Territory, preaching
to the people, and firing up their hearts with the spirit of honesty, so
that they would entirely quit pilfering, lying, and deceiving, and deal
honestly with one another, with themselves, and with their God, and be
industrious and prudent, and pay attention to their business, instead of
loafing about the streets. I wish we had one hundred such missionaries in
this city, to get up prayer meetings, preaching meetings, and evening
meetings in every ward. What for? To draw away that filthy, nasty mess
which assembles at the corner of this public square. For a week or two
past, that court-house has been thronged with men, and it is darker than
the bowels of hell. If you ask me how I know, I answer, I have been there
and seen for myself; have understood how they felt and tried the spirits,
and I saw who were there. It is a shame for men to be found loafing about
in such places, where there is contention, and quarrelling, and every
stratagem that can be used to deceive juries and witnesses, and lying
before them with all the grace and sanctity of a Saint, pretending to be
one. Such a place is darker to me than midnight darkness.
There is not a jury which has occupied seats in that court-house that
comprehends the full scope of truth; they are put there and then their
minds are beclouded, dust is thrown into their eyes, and they do not fully
know truth from error, light from darkness, what is of God from what is
not of God.
As I have already said, a lawyer commenced his plea yesterday, by
appealing to high heaven to witness his honesty before the jury, and this
he did to decoy their feelings, to throw them off their guard, and in all
this he was true to his client, in accordance with the approved mode of
the Gentiles. He has been a Gentile lawyer for many years before he
entered this Church, and therefore I do not think that he really merits
such severe censure as he otherwise would for taking the Gentile shoot so
faithfully, as the strong power of tradition and habit still enfolds him.
Instead of setting before the jury the true merits of the case, and
nothing else, he never touched upon them, but avoided them at every turn
and threw dust in their eyes, that they might give an unrighteous
decision.
Elders of Israel also throng such a place, and that too when no
spirit reigns there but the devil's spirit, and unless enough righteous
Elders go in to purify the atmosphere and overbalance the power of evil,
you can get nothing from that den but the principles of hell. There is
not a righteous person, in this community, who will have difficulties that
cannot be settled by arbitrators, the Bishop's Court, the High Council, or
by the 12 Referees (as provided in Resolution No. 4, page 390 of Utah
Laws), far better and more satisfactorily than to contend with each other
in law courts, which directly tends to destroy the best interests of the
community, and to lead scores of men away from their duties, as good and
industrious citizens. Take from one to two hundred men and detain them in
a court room week after week, just look at it!! How many men have been
detained at that court-house during the past week? Will a hundred fill
the number? No. Will the time of one hundred and fifty men, for the past
six days, indemnify this community for the wasted time that has been spent
there in trying to decide one case, that any boy 15 years old, possessed
of good common sense, and having the spirit of truth within him, could
have decided in one hour? I tell you that the time of one hundred and
fifty men, for six days, will not supply the loss to this community which
has been incurred to satisfy the lustful, wicked, cursed, hellish
appetites of professed brethren, in striving to cheat their neighbors, by
employing lawyers to deceive or lie for them, which are synonymous terms
in the eyes of justice, and by bringing in witnesses to screen the guilty
and deceive a jury, whereby they are liable to give a wrong verdict.
I am making these remarks for your benefit, if you will be benefitted
by them. I tell you that a cricket war, a grasshopper war, or an Indian
war, would not begin to be so direful as what you would have to pass
through, were it not for your ignorance. If you are wilfully ignorant you
will have to feel the lash, but if you are innocently ignorant, and do the
best you know how, you may be excused.
Does the Lord love your conduct when you drag each other before the
ungodly? When you run after difficulties, contentions, broils, and
strifes? Do you think He has fellowship with your conduct in such things?
No, you do not. Do you suppose that Jesus Christ has? No. Do you
believe that angels and good men can fellowship your conduct? You do not,
for one moment. There is not a man or woman in this house, whether Saint
or sinner, Jew or Gentile, bond or free, black or white, that can so
believe for a moment.
Do you believe that your consciences can be clear in the day of
retribution, if you spend your time for naught, and run after the
filthiness of the wicked? Do you believe that, in so doing, you can stand
in the great day of account with a clear conscience? You cannot. Then
why, in the name of common sense, do you tag after the devil and his imps?
Old grey-headed men, who ought to be fathers in Israel, were
empaneled as a jury on the case I have alluded to, and what were they
after? The fog, the froth, and spawn of hell, and they feast upon it, men
who do not know their right hands from their left, with regard to the
influences of the Spirit of God. Might they not have known better? Yes,
if they had taken the course which Joseph Hovey has taken. If they would
walk humbly before God and know His will, they would go to work and get
stone and timber, and work at repairing their fences preparatory to
raising grain, potatoes, and other articles of food, instead of following
after courts and the nonsense, wickedness, and lying associated with them.
Do I say that lying is practised in those places? Yes, often from
beginning to end. Men will take a solemn oath that they will tell the
truth, in the name of Israel's God, and nothing but the truth, and then,
if they have a prejudice against Mr. A or B, they will tell their story to
suit themselves, and if possible crush an innocent person. The juries are
liable to be deceived, where there is so much darkness, and the whole
posse will go to hell, and I will say it in the name of Jesus Christ.
You men who follow after such a course of things as I refer to, I
would not give the ashes of a rye straw for the whole of you, jurymen,
witnesses, and every other person who countenances such a place. It is a
cage of unclean birds, a den and kitchen of the devil, prepared for hell,
and I am going to warn you of it. Some of you wondered why I sent Thomas
Bullock to take your names; I wanted to know the men who were coaxing hell
into our midst, for I wish to send them to China, to the East Indies, or
to where they cannot get back, at least for five years. Who do we wish to
stay at home? Such men as Joseph Hovey, men who will pay attention to
making fences, tilling the soil, and providing for their families, those
who will live their religion at home. But we will send off the poor
curses on a mission, and then the devil may have them, and we do not care
how soon they apostatize, after they get as far as California.
You may think my remarks are severe upon the lawyers here, but the
most of them take a course which is highly censurable, and you may see
grey headed men running after them, and asking, "Can you call me up as a
witness, or put me on the jury?"--in order that they may get a dollar or
two. Would I go there for money? No. There is not an honest man in this
community would go there merely for money or would plead law unless it was
demanded at his hands, by the principles of justice, to prevent the
innocent from being wronged and abused. No principle would ever lead an
honest man into a court room, only to preserve the innocent from being
rode down and destroyed.
To see professed brethren, old and young, idling away their time in
and around court-rooms, proves them to have little or no love for their
religion, and that they care but little about their God. I would like to
see a strictly honest community, if we can have one, and then there would
be no differences of opinion brought before a Gentile court--never, never!
Every difficulty would be settled amicably, without ever calling upon a
court. I am ashamed of many of you; it is a disgrace for men who profess
to be men of dignity and character--men who have been judges in the
supreme court of their country, to condescend to the mean, low-lied
calling of a pettifogger, and miserable tools at that. I am ashamed for
such persons, their conduct is a disgrace to them, and to the name of
"Mormon."
I wish we had in our midst thousands and millions of such men as
Joseph Hovey I would then bid defiance to all the powers of darkness. But
while we have hundreds and thousands of men, whom we hold in fellowship,
who would rather take off their hats and scrape their shoes to a servant
of the devil, and black his boots, I tell you we are in danger.
Men who love corruption, contention, and broils, and who seek to make
them, I curse you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; I curse you, and
the fruits of your lands shall be smitten with mildew, your children shall
sicken and die, your cattle shall waste away and I pray God to root you
out from the society of the Saints. To observe such conduct as many
lawyers are guilty of, stirring up strife among peaceable men, is an
outrage upon the feelings of every honest, law abiding man. To sit among
them is like sitting in the depths of hell, for they are as corrupt as the
bowels of hell, and their hearts are as black as the ace of spades. I
have known them for years; I know where they were begotten and by whom,
and how they were brought forth, and the history of their lives. They
love sin, and roll it under their tongues as a sweet morsel, and will
creep around like wolves in sheep's clothing, and fill their pocket's with
the fair earnings of their neighbors, and devise every artifice in their
power to reach the property of the honest, and that is what has caused
these courts. I say, may God Almighty curse them from this time
henceforth, and let all the Saints in this house say, Amen [a unanimous
Amen from 3000 persons resounded through the house] for they are a stink
in the nostrils of God and angels and in the nostrils of every Latter-day
Saint in this Territory.
We have been driven from the face of man into the wilderness, and now
the poor devils follow us to stir up strife, and to produce the spawn of
hell, in which they delight to live and upon which they feed. And simple
ones in this community will beg of them, "Cannot I be on the grand jury?
Cannot I get a little to do in the court?" You are fools; God will never
pay you; all the pay you will receive will be from the devil, and it will
be miserable pay.
This I say to lawyers and to all who will run after strife, and I say
it in honesty and soberness before high heaven, before my Father in
heaven, before Jesus Christ His Son, and before the holy angels.
To see lawyers, as I saw them yesterday, strive to make the jury
believe them honest, and then throw dust in their eyes, who will reward
you for this? The devil, when he gets you in deep suffering and trouble,
for there he will leave you, and say that he has no more use for you. You
would do better to labor for the Lord, and you would get better pay. And
the people of this Territory will make money by paying their honest debts,
and gain property and be blessed in their basket and in their store, in
their fields and in their crops, in their flocks and herds, in their wives
and children, while the withering touch of the Almighty will be upon them
if they practise wickedness.
Keep away from court houses; no decent man will go there unless he
goes as a witness, or is in some manner compelled to. I know that many
are obliged to go, but those who creep around to see what is going on, let
me tell you, the devil has possession of them. I wish such persons to go
to California, if they wish to. I counsel you to keep away from courts,
we have got the names of those who have attended that court room, and we
will send those characters on long missions, for we want to get rid of
them, and we do not care whether they apostatize or not.
If the world complain of this, say I, if you have not sense enough to
know the difference between an honest man and a devil, you must run the
risk of it. I could always discern the difference, and if you have not
insight enough to know when they tell the truth and when they lie, you
have to run the same chance that we have. People abroad may say, "Why
don't you send us all good men?" Do you believe them? No, you do not,
when we send them. We wish them to stay here, only those whom it is
necessary to have go, but we have no business here for those poor
miserable devils. I call you miserable, because the Spirit of the
Almighty has no fellowship for you; your names are written with ours here,
and also in the Lam's book of life, as I have often told you, where they
will remain until you sin against the Holy Ghost. Angels have no
fellowship for you, neither have I. Now go and prove yourselves, and if
you desire to be Saints you have an opportunity. Were it not for your
ignorance, there would be a severing between the righteous and the wicked.
I would not endure what I am obliged to endure, whether I am righteous or
not, I would make a scattering among this people, and make the wicked
leave forthwith.
I wanted to give you this brief exhortation. You may say that I have
talked rather hard, but I do not care what you say about it, not one
particle. I will tell you what I think about the matter, if you do not
stop your wickedness we will lay judgment to the line and righteousness to
the plummet, and I tell you that the hailstorm that will be around you
will sweep away the refuge of lies and all liars.
I am not afraid of all hell nor of all the world, in laying judgment
to the line, when the Lord says so. Now, then, behave yourselves, you old
gray-headed know nothings, you are doted; you are--shall I say hardshells?
No, you are poor old soft shell fogies, that a few pounds of tea and sugar
will buy.
I feel as ready as any man to honor gray hairs, but I also believe in
the old proverb which reads that "a wise child is better than an old and
foolish king." We do not want any such men to go to courts. When they
want you to sit on a jury, tell them to judge the case themselves, and you
keep away and mind your own business. Let me ask you, is there a man
obliged to go into court and sit on a jury? No. Our law will not oblige
him to do it, only on certain conditions. You can get rid of doing so,
you are there because you love to be there. You suck down the drink that
is there, eat the food that is there, and sup the broth that is there,
because it is of hell and you like it better than you do the Saints, and
the sustenance of the Saints. May god bless the honest in heart, and
separate the wicked and unrighteous from them, and curse the latter class
from this time henceforth. Amen.
THE NECESSITY OF THE SAINTS LIVING UP TO THE LIGHT
WHICH HAS BEEN GIVEN THEM.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, March 2, 1856.
I have many subjects that I would like to speak upon for the benefit
of the Saints, and one thing in particular I should like to do for them,
which I believe would be the greatest blessing that could be bestowed upon
them, and that is to give you eyes with which to see things as they are.
If I had power to bestow that description of sight upon the Latter-day
Saints, I do not believe that there is a man or woman but what would try
to live their religion.
Some might suppose that it would be a great blessing to be taken and
carried directly into heaven and there set down, but in reality that would
be no blessing to such persons; they could not reap a full reward, could
not enjoy the glory of the kingdom, and could not comprehend and abide the
light thereof, but it would be to them a hell intolerable, and I suppose
would consume them much quicker than would hell fire. It would be no
blessing to you to be carried into the celestial kingdom, and obliged to
stay therein, unless you were prepared to dwell there.
If people had eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand
things as they are, it would prove a blessing to them, for they would then
order their lives in a manner to secure the blessings which they
anticipate. However, it is out of my power to thus bless this people, but
the gift has been placed within the reach of every person by the purchase
of the Son of God, and it is for them to obtain it, or to pass along
without obtaining it, just as they may choose. But some facts are easily
comprehended; take the Latter-day Saints and compare their feelings,
lives, and doings with those of the world, and what will be readily
discovered? Were any of you now to go forth into the world, if you had
one spark of honesty or of virtue about you, you would desire to return
as soon as duty would permit, and would exclaim, "I had no idea that the
world was as I found it to be." Many of our Elders exclaim, on their
return from foreign missions, "How wicked the world has got to be! They
are growing worse and worse, and go rapidly from bad to worse." I have
heard them exclaim, "It was astonishing to see how the people could so
alter in the course of two or three years!"
On this point I will remark that the Elders rapidly alter one way,
and the people of the world alter directly the other way, thus the space
between them increases much faster than we are apt to be aware of. Elders
who go forth to proclaim the Gospel, unless they do something to clip
their faith, or cause them to apostatize from their religion, so that they
are left in the dark, are generally on the increase in improvement, grow
in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, and gather to themselves more
knowledge than they had before they went on their mission. They are
advancing in the principles of truth, while the world are receding from
the truth they once had; consequently, it appears to the Elders, and to
those who go from the Saints into the world, that it is growing wicked
faster than it really is, and the Elders do not always realize that their
advancement in truth produces much of the appearance of the great distance
between them and the world.
If many of this congregation knew, if they had eyes to see, and ears
to hear, they would often be ashamed of their conduct, when contrasted
with all the light that has been manifested in the Gospel of salvation
revealed to us. We have heard Joseph the Prophet preach, have seen his
face, and have the revelations given through him, and the manifestations
of the Holy Spirit; we have knowledge, we have the living oracles in our
midst, and with all this let me say to the Latter-day Saints that they
stand upon slippery places. They do not all fully know the paths they
walk in, they do not all perfectly understand their own ways and doings,
many do not altogether realize their own weaknesses, do not understand the
power of the devil and how liable they are to be decoyed one hair`s
breadth, to begin with, from the line of truth. They are first drawn by a
fine line, in a little time it becomes a cord, it soon increases to a
strong rope, and from that to a cable; thus it grows from the size of a
spider's web, in comparison.
Let a Saint diverge from the path of truth and rectitude, in the
least, no matter in what, it may be in a deal with his neighbor, in
lusting after that which is not in his possession, in neglecting his duty,
in having an over anxiety for something he should not be anxious about in
being a little distrustful with regard to the providences of God, in
entertaining a misgiving in his heart and feeling with regard to the hand
of the Lord towards him, and his mind will begin to be darkened.
Brother Amasa Lyman has just observed, that some say "I suppose we
must acknowledge the hand of God in all things." There is no supposition
with as me to that matter, we can do as we please about it; but we have to
confess or be chastised until we know and understand how things are, and
realize that the Lord God is with us, in our midst and around about us, by
His angels, by His Spirit, and by His eye which searches and researches
our hearts. If He is not here in person, He is conversant with our
actions, and scans every thought of our hearts and every action of our
lives. He is in our midst, and we might as well begin to think about it
first as last.
If there is a misgiving in the heart with regard to confidence in our
God, do you not see that there is a chance for one to slide a hair's
breadth from the truth? This gives power to the enemy, and if we are
decoyed in the least from the path of duty, do you not perceive that it
produces darkness? Do you not understand that, in your experience? Yes,
every Saint does. If you become dark, do you not know that the enemy has
still greater power to decoy you further from the path? Then how soon the
people would go to destruction, how soon they would go to ruin!
I will tell you what this people need, with regard to preaching; you
need, figuratively, to have it rain pitchforks, tines downwards, from this
pulpit, Sunday after Sunday. Instead of the smooth, beautiful, sweet,
still, silk-velvet-lipped preaching, you should have sermons like peals of
thunder, and perhaps we then can get the scales from our eyes. This style
is necessary in order to save many of this people. Give them smooth
preaching, and let them glide along in their own desires and wishes, and
they will follow after the traditions of their forefathers and the
inclinations of their own wicked hearts, and give way to temptation,
little by little, until, by and bye, they are ripe for destruction.
If I could take away the vail, and let you see how things really are,
you would then know just as well as I know, and I know them just as well
as any man on the face of the earth need to. I would not ask for a
particle more knowledge upon that subject than I now have in my
possession, were I capable of imparting it to this people, until we
improve upon what knowledge we already possess. I know the condition of
this people, I know what induces them to do as they do, I know the secret
springs to their actions, how they are beset, the temptations and evils
that are around them, and how liable they are to be drawn away,
consequently, I tell you, brethren, that you need to have the thunders of
the Almighty and the forked ligtnings [sic] of truth sent upon you, to
wake you up out of your lethargy.
Some may say, "Brother Brigham always chastises us." But what do I
tell you? I say that if there are any Saints on earth they are here, if
the kingdom of God is on the earth it is here, if Jesus is not known here,
he is not known upon the earth, if his Father is not known here, He is not
known upon the earth. What of all this? If we have this knowledge
greater is the shame, unless we live to it, and greater will be our
condemnation. The people should be preached to, but they need something
besides smooth teaching. Comparatively speaking, they should have their
ears cuffed and be roughly handled, be kicked out doors, and then kicked
in again. Most of the Elders who preach in this stand ought to be kicked
out of it, and then kicked into it again, until they overhaul themselves
and find out what is the matter with them.
The mass of the people are all asleep together, craving after the
world, running after wickedness, desiring this, that, and the other, which
is not for their good.
You hear many talk about having made sacrifices; if I had that word
in my vocabulary I would blot it out. I have never yet made what I call
sacrifices; in my experience I know nothing about making them. We are
here in this wicked world, a world shrouded in darkness, principally led,
directed, governed, and controlled, from first to last, by the power of
our common foe--him who was opposed to Jesus Christ and to his
kingdom--the son of the morning--the devil. Lucifer has almost the entire
control over the whole earth, rules and governs the children of men and
leads them on to destruction. He has millions and millions of agents;
they are in every place, the air is full of them and the earth is full of
them. You cannot go anywhere without finding some of them, unless it is
among a few of the Saints who have faith to turn them out of their hearts
and affections, out of their houses, and then out of their midst.
There are a few such places on the earth, but they are very few,
compared with all the world beside. The world is drunk with its own
folly, with its own wickedness.
I know that I spoke very harshly to you last Sabbath, but that does
not hurt the oil and the wine; no, not one particle. There was not a
Latter-day Saint then within hearing of my voice but that his soul
shouted, "Amen, thank God, glory, hallelujah." You need such preaching as
was that, from day to day, until the rubbish cleaving to you is swept
away, until your minds are upon something beside the follies and vanities
of the world. You have much to learn. Do you think I was too rash last
Sunday? (Voices, no.) Even then I told you only a small portion of the
truths pertaining to the subjects touched upon.
I cannot tell you the whole truth, for you are not in a condition to
receive it; my voice is not powerful enough to pierce your hearts; I alone
am not able to remove the scales from your eyes that you may see things as
they are. I can talk to you here, and diffuse my spirit among you, so far
as you will receive it. If I have the Spirit of the Lord, and your hearts
are soft, I can impart to you what the Lord has for you through me; that
is all I can do. I have to cling to my Father, to my God, and to my
religion every day, yes, every moment of my life; have to plead with Him
and centre all my confidence, hopes, and faith in Him, and so should you.
There is one thing I desire of this people more than everything else
on this earth, more than gold, silver, houses, lands, and the riches of
this world which are not to compare with it, and that is that this people
would so live as to know the Father and the Son, to know the will of God
concerning them, and to be filled with the Holy Ghost, and have the
visions of eternity opened to them. Then my soul would be satisfied; that
is all I could ask of them. I do not care whether we have half rations,
or quarter rations, that is a matter I care but little about. I would
rather that this people should starve to death in the mountains, than to
have the Lord Almighty hand us over to a cursed, infernal mob. I would
rather go down to the grave in peace than to fight a mob, unless the Lord
would give me enough Saints to fight and kill the poor devils; in such
case I wish to live and fight them. But I never want to see a mob again
drive and tread under foot the Saints.
While brother Amasa was addressing the people, I admired the
principles he taught, and I can apply them to myself, so far as they
pertain to me; but I do not know how my little boys and girls, now growing
up in our midst, could understand what is in the world, unless we sent
them forth so that they could contrast one class with the other. For my
part I do not need a mob to aid me to purify myself; I do not require to
hear another man take the name of God in vain, in order to complete my
experience concerning profanity. I have no occasion for the devil and his
imps, nor to see the face of a wicked man while I live, in order to make
me more acquainted with their power. I will be perfectly satisfied with
the glory and crown I shall receive, if I have no further acquaintance or
experience with the power of the devil, so far as I am concerned.
If I have to pass through scenes of trouble, sorrow, and affliction,
if we have to fight the devil, and I have the power to live, I pray my
Father in heaven, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to let me live to
enjoy this privilege. If I, of necessity must pass, through war and
bloodshed, toils and labors, let me live, for I love to fight the devils,
but I love to overcome them. If I had the power I would doubtless use
them up, perhaps to the injury of the Saints. Why? Because if you do not
know wickedness you cannot enjoy the happiness God has in store for you.
Paul asks, "Shall we sin that righteousness may abound?" No, there
is plenty of sin without your sinning. We can have all the experience we
need, without sinning ourselves, therefore we will not sin that good may
come, we will not transgress the law of God that we may know the opposite.
There is no necessity for such a course, for the world is full of
transgression, and this people need not mingle up with it.
Can you discern between the righteous and the wicked here? You know
I have spoken of a certain class of men who frequent our law shops, and
every other wicked hole they can get into; can they discern the difference
between those who love the law of God and those who despise it? No. The
vilest sinner on the earth who will come with a bland countenance, using
the airs that belong to the etiquette of the day, you receive as a very
fine man, a beautiful gentleman. Do you not know that you need the Spirit
of the Almighty to look through a man and discern what is in his heart,
while his face smiles upon you and his words flow as smoothly as oil? If
you had the power of God upon you, you might see the sword lurking within
him, and that, if he had the power, he would plunge it in your heart and
destroy you from the earth. I meet many such men in these streets, and in
the houses round about.
Do you not know that Jesus told the truth when he said, "They what
are not for us are against us?" A great many have our patronage and
influence, benefit by our forbearance, and enrich themselves with our
cash, but when that is gone, what shall we hear next? "Wipe them from the
earth, put them out of existence and let the earth not be infested with
them any longer, for they have no money, no influence for us now; they
cannot patronize and promote us, therefore destroy them from the earth."
That is the spirit of the devil which reigns in every man who is not a
saint at heart. This wicked principle may lay dormant, to all appearance,
year after year, lurking in the flesh, until it increases to such a degree
that the flesh has overcome the spirit of light which God implanted in
them, when it exhibits itself, and then the cry is, "Destroy the Apostles
of Jesus and every one of his true followers; root out that clan which
will destroy us unless we destroy them; root them out, that we be no more
pestered with them."
Suppose one of my brethren had a large family connection, had many
brothers and sisters near and dear to him, as near his feelings as a child
is to its father's or mother's, and that this blood connection, embracing
all the friends he had upon earth, should, on a night so dark that they
could not see one inch before their eyes, mount their horses, put spurs to
them, and start at the top of their speed, on a road that neither they nor
their horses had ever travelled one inch upon, would he not cry at the top
of his voice, "Where are you going?" Would he not say, "You are riding in
the dark and on a road which you do not know?" They might put spurs in
their horses and reply, "We will perform the journey." You are the
individuals I am referring to. Let any one see people hastening to the
brink of an awful precipice, hundreds of feet in depth, and before they
are aware of it, about to leap into the abyss, what feelings would move
the individual looking upon such a sight? Would he not wish to take them
by the hair of their heads, if they would not stop, and save them if
possible?
So I fell about you. I feel like taking men and women by the hair of
their heads, figuratively speaking, and slinging them miles and miles, and
like crying, stop, before you ruin yourselves! But I have not the power
to do this; I can talk to you a little and can beseech you to stop your
mad career, and can ask your Father in heaven to give you the light of His
Spirit, and when you receive that you will find every word that I said
last Sabbath to be true. There are men here, by the score, who do not
know their right hands from their left, so far as the principle of justice
is concerned. Does our High Council? No, for they will let men throw
dust in their eyes, until you cannot find the hundredth millionth part of
an ounce of common sense in them. You may go to the Bishops' courts, and
what are they? A set of old grannies. They cannot judge a case pending
between two old women, to say nothing of a case between man and man. We
have already dropped many of them, and we are picking up young men. We
will train them, and tell them to serve God or apostatize.
The time is coming when justice will be laid to the line and
righteousness to the plummet; when we shall take the old broad sword and
ask, "Are you for God?" and if you are not heartily on the Lord's side,
you will be hewn down. I feel like reproving you; you are like a wild ass
that rears and almost breaks his neck before he will be tamed. It is so
with this people.
Have we not given you salt enough to season you? You have been
sweetened with velvet lips, until you do not know salt from anything else.
Will you hear now? If I have strength and continue to feel like it, I
will come here and train you every Sabbath, and I wish my sermons to be
like the raining of pitchforks point foremost, until you awake out of your
sleep and find out whether you are Saints or not. We have a great many
gars, sharks, sheepheads, lamper-eels, and every other kind of fish that
is to be found, in the pond; the Gospel net has gathered them up, and what
may you expect from such a mess? You may expect the best and worst of all
God's creation mingled here together. The foolish will turn from correct
principles, go over to the wicked, and cease to be righteous, so that they
can go to hell with the fools. I wish to have every man who rises to
speak from this stand, lay aside the smooth tongue and velvet lips and let
his words be like melted lead, that they may sink into the hearts of the
people.
Now do not think that I have cast you off; you are my brethren, if I
have any. If there are any Saints on the face of the earth they are here.
I am one with you, and if you turn round and say, "Brother Brigham ought
to live according to his preaching," I answer, I live so now that you
cannot keep up with me. Do not fret yourselves, I am ready to be weighed
in the balance in all my ways, with any of you. Learn to live your
religion day by day, and do right all the time. Let us strive to get more
light, more of the grace and power of God, that we may increase therein,
which is my prayer continually. May God bless you: Amen.
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE BISHOPS--MEN JUDGED ACCORDING TO THEIR
KNOWLEDGE--ORGANIZATION OF THE SPIRIT AND BODY--THOUGHT
AND LABOR TO BE BLENDED TOGETHER.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, March 16, 1856.
I do not now rise expressly for the purpose of giving additional
instructions, for we have already heard much to-day; still, I have a few
reflections which I will offer. Can you not remember hearing public
speakers, both here and in other countries, use many words without clearly
and distinctly conveying ideas?
The discourse by brother Vernon, in the forenoon, quite delighted me.
I was extremely well pleased to hear him clothe his ideas with such
beautiful language, and so easily understood. Hence, I exhort my
brethren, the Elders, when they rise to teach, edify, or instruct the
people, not to hamper themselves with efforts to merely select nice
sounding words, but to deal out correct and useful ideas, even if you do
not use one word in ten in a way that the learned would deem proper. If a
speaker presents useful ideas to a congregation of the best scholars in
existence, though not one word of his language is strictly proper, yet
what he says will feed that congregation, far more than will a perfect
volume of nice sounding words which convey few or no important ideas. I
will leave the correctness of this remark to philosophers of every grade.
Still, when any one rises to speak, if his mind is stored with
valuable ideas, let him clothe his thoughts with the best language he can
command--that which comes to him easily and naturally. I really wish to
impress this idea upon the minds of the Elders.
If you will reflect upon what class of speakers have most edified
you, no matter whether they are taught or untaught in the learning of the
schools, you will readily discover that it has been those whose minds were
stored with good ideas, and who spoke so that you could readily and easily
understand them, whether their language was couched in the most approved
style or not. When you hear individuals speak whose minds are stored with
rich ideas, do they not benefit you the most? I care but little about
your language, hand out the ides, and let us know what you have stored in
your minds.
I will now refer to a portion of the discourse delivered here this
afternoon, and say to the Bishops, that it would be highly gratifying to
me, and to all of us, if you would prove yourselves wise stewards. You
have a good opportunity to exhibit your abilities, and I say to the Bishop
who has just addressed us, won't you do as I have formerly directed you,
and appoint good, wise, judicious men to go through your Ward, to find out
what is in that Ward, and the situation of every family, whether they have
money, flour, or costly clothing, or whether they are destitute and
suffering? This is your business and calling. But many of our Bishops
are sleepy and good for nothing, and if I were going to cleanse the
Church, knowing the character of individuals, I think I should commence
with the Bishops. Theirs is one of the most laborious and responsible
offices in the whole Church; it is an office which requires men of the
best skill, judgment and talent, to fill, and is one of the greatest
importance. Bishops, will you take hold and try to make men of
yourselves? After all I have said now and heretofore, if you were going
to search your Wards, you would be very apt to come to me to inquire what
you should do. I will tell you, do not let there be one place, in the
habitations of the Saints in your Wards, about which you are uninformed.
Brother Wooley has reported the circumstance of a Bishop finding a woman
who had been living upon the charity of her neighbors, and who, at the
same time, had valuable property, and money hid up. I can refer you to
scores of like circumstances, and what is more, to some of the Elders,
those who are supposed to be among the best of our Elders, who have been
preaching abroad and brought their hundreds into the Church, who come here
with a lie in their hearts and on their tongues, with regard to their
means, and declare, emphatically, that they have no means to help
themselves with, neither money nor goods.
We have brought them here, and they are still owing the Perpetual
Emigrating Fund for their passage, and they have gold, if they have no
silver, and have the richest kind of clothing. This brings to my mind the
circumstance, of a family in Nauvoo, who were in the habit of travelling
from house to house, begging their living, and said, that they were poor
and destitute. When the time came for us to leave that city, and that
family was starting to St. Louis, the woman loosed her dress and showed
one of the sisters her stays, and said, "I have my money sewed up in these
stays, and the Church won't get it." This woman begged her living, and
stayed in Nauvoo almost two years, and would rather be damned than to part
with the sovereigns sewed up in her stays. Such people will be damned,
and the sooner they leave us the better.
Were I a Bishop, I would know to a reasonable degree of accuracy, the
value of the clothing owned by those in my Ward, who were calling upon me
for assistance, and I would be familiar with every nook and habitation,
and watch carefully that money was not secreted, and the owners begging
from those poorer than themselves. I would know whether they had money
hoarded, or hid away.
A score of years ago the Elders had to be very watchful, and I do not
suppose that, for many years, I slept so soundly but what the slightest
tap would wake me up. If any person should say, "Brigham!" I am ready at
once to ask, "What is wanted?" I am ready to jump, at a moment's warning.
No person could stir about, without our knowing it.
The Bishops should be equally wide awake, and set those whom they
have confidence in, those whom they know to be honest, to be watchmen on
the tower, and let them find out who are suffering. Doubtless, there are
many who are suffering through want of food, but there is no necessity of
any family suffering in this City, and when this City is supplied, the
remainder of the Territory may be considered independent.
I presume that we have one fourth less provisions in this City to the
number of the inhabitants, than has any other portion of the Territory,
and yet we need not suffer. Here we need not be ashamed to beg, when
stern necessity has closed around us. I do not expect to see the day when
I am perfectly independent, until I am crowned in the celestial kingdom of
my Father, and made as independent as my Father in heaven. I have not yet
received my inheritance as my own, and I expect to be dependent until I
do, for all that I have is lent to me.
If a man comes to me and says, he is out of food, what of that? He
is out of food, that is all. If a man comes along and says, "My family is
destitute of food and clothing," what of that? Simply that they are
destitute of food and clothing, and still they may be gentlemen and
ladies, for all that, and be honoring their tabernacles and being on the
earth.
The customs of the world have made it degrading to ask for food, but
it is not, when a person cannot honestly procure it in any other way. The
man who is hungry and destitute has as good a right to my food as any
other person, and I should feel as happy in associating with him, if he
had a good heart, as with those who have an abundance, or with the princes
of the earth. They all are esteemed by me, not according to the wealth
and position they hold, but according to the character they have.
Bishops, will you try to magnify your calling? I will give you a few
words of consolation; at our next Conference we expect to drop a good many
Bishops, and appoint others, and we intend to keep doing so, until we get
men with good hearts and active brains, to fill that responsible station.
I will now speak upon another subject; one which I have touched upon
many times, but which, to this day, is but little understood. I allude to
the organization of the spirit and the body, the distinction between the
two, and their operations. This subject is not well understood, and
generally not much reflected upon, but is one which the Saints have got to
learn, if they ever learn the real organization of man. Then they will
know and understand the peculiarities of our present organization, and how
liable mankind are to submit to its weaknesses, and to the influences of
the powers that rule over them.
Were you in possession of this knowledge, you would be more
compassionate. As severely as I sometimes talk to you, my soul is full of
compassion. It has ever been my study to understand myself, for by so
doing I can understand my neighbors.
If this people would apply their minds to wisdom, with regard to
themselves, they would be more compassionate than they are now.
From what is at times said here, it might be inferred that every one
who did not walk to the line was at once going to be destroyed, but who
has been hurt? Who is about to be killed? Who is about to be taken out
of the way? When this people have lived long enough upon the earth, to
have the principles of life and salvation disseminated among them, and to
have their children taught in those principles, so that they fully know
the principles of eternal salvation, then let us or our children turn away
from the commandments of God, as some do now, and I could tell you what
will be done with them.
Brother Wooley has said, the time is not far distant, but it will
never come until the inhabitants of the earth, and especially those who
have been gathered together, have a sufficient time to be educated in the
celestial law, so that each person may understand for himself. Then if
they transgress against the light and knowledge they possess, some will be
stoned to death, and "judgment will be laid to the line, and righteousness
to the plummet." But people will never be taken and sacrificed for their
ignorance, when they have had no opportunity to know and understand the
truth. Such a proceeding would be contrary to the economy of heaven. But
after we receive and understand things as they are, if we then disobey, we
may look for the chastening hand of the Almighty.
If we could learn ourselves, we should see thousands and thousands of
weaknesses in the people. They turn to the right and to the left, to this
and that which is wrong; yet if we did know and see things as they are, we
should understand that thousands of those acts are performed in ignorance.
I presume there are people hearing me talk, who would give the riches
of the Indies, if they had them in their possession, to be able to obtain
the mind and will of God concerning themselves. They would give all they
possess on the earth, or expect to possess, were they in possession of
keys by which they could know the path to walk in. What are we going to
do with this class of persons? I will tell you what I am going to do with
them, so far as I am concerned. I am going to give them my faith,
confidence, prayers, and full fellowship. And when they get through with
this probation, if they have done, all the time, according to the best
they knew, God will not hold them responsible for what they did not know,
and they will be received, through the merits of the Son, into the kingdom
of our Father.
I mention this to inform the people, that they may understand what
they should do with regard to the law of God, and the transgression
thereof. The law is very strict; and in this congregation there are men
and women who, with uplifted hands to heaven, before the Father, the Son,
and all the holy angels, made solemn covenants that they never would do
thus and so. For example, one obligation is, "I will never have anything
to do with any of the daughters of Eve, unless they are given to me of the
Lord." Men will call God to witness that they never will transgress this
law, and promise to live a virtuous life, so far as intercourse with
females is concerned; but what can you see? A year will not pass away
before some few of them are guilty of creeping into widows' houses, and
into bed with the wives of their brethren, debauching one woman here, and
another there. Do we enforce upon them the strict penalty of the law?
Not yet. I hope their conduct arises from their ignorance, but let me
transgress my covenant, and the case would be different. I want to live
as long as I can, on the earth, but I would not like to live to violate my
covenants; I would rather go behind the vail before doing so.
A few of the men and women who go into the house of the Lord, and
receive their endowments, and in the most sacred manner make covenants
before the Almighty, go and violate those covenants. Do I have compassion
on them? Yes, I do have mercy on them, for there is something in their
organization which they do not understand; and there are but few in this
congregation who do understand it.
You say, "That man ought to die for transgressing the law of God."
Let me suppose a case. Suppose you found your brother in bed with your
wife, an put a javelin through both of them, you would be justified, and
they would atone for their sins, and be received into the kingdom of God.
I would at once do so in such a case; and under such circumstances, I have
no wife whom I love so well that I would not put a javelin through her
heart, and I would do it with clean hands. But you who trifle with your
covenants, be careful lest in judging you will be judged.
Every man and women has got to have clean hands and pure heart, to
execute judgment, else they had better let the matter alone.
Again, suppose the parties are not caught in their iniquity, and it
passes along unnoticed, shall I have compassion on them? Yes, I will have
compassion on them, for transgressions of the nature already named, or for
those of any other description. If the Lord so order it that they are not
caught in the act of their iniquity, it is pretty good proof that He is
willing for them to live; and I say let them live and suffer in the flesh
for their sins, for they will have it to do.
There is not a man or woman, who violates the covenants made with
their God, that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ
will never wipe that out, your own blood must atone for it; and the
judgments of the Almighty will come, sooner or later, and every man and
woman will have to atone for breaking their covenants. To what degree?
Will they have to go to hell? They are in hell enough now. I do not wish
them in a greater hell, when their consciences condemn them all the time.
Let compassion reign in our bosoms. Try to comprehend how weak we are,
how we are organized, how the spirit and the flesh are continually at war.
I told you here, some time ago, that the devil who tempted Eve, got
possession of the earth, and reigns triumphant, has nothing to do with
influencing our spirits, only through the flesh; that is a true doctrine.
Inasmuch as our spirits are inseparably connected with the flesh, and,
inasmuch as the whole tabernacle is filled with the spirit which God gave,
if the body is afflicted, the spirit also suffers, for there is a warfare
between the flesh and the spirit, and if the flesh overcomes, the spirit
is brought into bondage, and if the spirit overcomes, the body is made
free, and then we are free indeed, for we are made free by the Son of God.
Watch yourselves, and think. As I had observed, on the evening of the
14th, at the social Hall, "think, brethren, think," but do not think so
far that you cannot think back again. I then wanted to tell a little
anecdote, but I will tell it now.
In the eastern country there was a man who used to go crazy, at
times, and then come to his senses again. One of his neighbors asked him
what made him go crazy; he replied, "I get to thinking, and thinking,
until finally I think so far that I am not always able to think back
again." Can you think too much for the spirit which is put in the
tabernacle? You can, and this is a subject which I wish the brethren
instructed upon, and the people to understand. The spirit is the
intelligent part of man, and is intimately connected with the tabernacle.
Let this intelligent part labor to excess, and it will eventually overcome
the tabernacle, the equilibrium will be destroyed, and the whole
organization deranged. Many people have deranged themselves by thinking
too much.
The thinking part is the immortal or invisible portion, and it is
that which performs the mental labor; then the tabernacle, which is formed
and organized for that express purpose, brings about or effects the result
of that mental labor. Let the body work with the mind, and let them both
labor fairly together, and, with but few exceptions, you will have a
strong-minded, athletic individual, powerful both physically and mentally.
When you find the thinking faculty perfectly active, in a healthy
person, it should put the physical organization into active operation, and
the result of the reflection is carried out, and the object is
accomplished. In such a person you will see mental and physical health
and strength combined, in their perfection. We have the best opportunity
afforded any people to cultivate these properties of man.
I do not know that I am trammeled by tradition, or that any of us
need to be, hence we are in the best situation to exhibit, through the
organization of the tabernacle, the labor and properties of the invisible
part. When a person is thinking all the time he is little better than a
machine; he perverts the purpose of his organization, and injures both
mind and body. Why? Because the mental labor does not find vent through
the organism of the tabernacle, and has not that scope--that field of
labor which it desires, and which it was wisely designed that it should
have. Think according to your labor, labor according to your thinking.
Some think too much, and should labor more, others labor too much,
and should think more, and thus maintain an equilibrium between the mental
and physical members of the individual; then you will enjoy health and
vigor, will be active, and ready to discern truly, and judge quickly. Is
it not your privilege to have discernment to circumscribe all things, no
matter what subject comes before you, and to at once know the truth
concerning any matter? When you see a person of this character, you see
one with a healthy and vigorous mind, throughout the whole operations of
organization. True, this is not the privilege of every one; some have to
do much thinking, and but little manual labor, while others do much manual
labor with little, if any thinking. The latter class are as dull and
stupid as the brutes, and when their labor is done, they lie down and
sleep, like the brutes. They do not think enough, they should bring their
minds into active operation, as well as their bodies. Men who do much
thinking, philosophers for instance, would apply their bodies to more
manual labor, in order to make their bodies more healthy and their minds
more vigorous and active.
Let me take twenty years to come, in which to build cities, temples,
tabernacles, halls, dwellings, &c., with my mental organization, and not
put forth my hands, or use any manual labor, to perform any of this work,
do you not perceive that my body would not have labored during all this
period, and that my mind would have labored to excess, even to the
overcoming of the tabernacle. Again, let me build house after house, hall
after hall, temple after temple, &c., my mind would have something to rest
upon, and my body being weary with labor, I could lie down, and both would
rest together. When I wish to build a temple it costs me much thought,
and when I see a temple finished on this block, as I have seen it in the
vision of my mind, do you not perceive that the whole of the labor of the
mind, on that matter, is at rest? This is my philosophy on thinking; and
if I were obliged to think for ten years, and not erect a building, or
help build up a city, or in any way put my thoughts into execution, it
would materially injure my mental faculty, through want of results for it
to rest upon. But let me engage in active operations, even though I do
not personally perform one day's manual labor, let me see the result of my
thinking budding into existence, and my mind has something to rest upon.
If I cannot carry out that which is in my mind--that which I wish to
accomplish in all the improvements, in building up Zion in the latter
days, as soon as I am deprived of the necessary physical labor I withdraw
my mind from that object; I will not suffer my mind to rest upon it. For
instance, we are going to suspend labor upon the Temple for a year, until
we can prepare ourselves more fully for that work. We have abandoned the
idea of using adobies in the walls of that building, and intend to use
granite. Now, suppose I should begin to think, and think, and still think
about it, are you not aware that it would be a worse than useless waste of
time and mental labor? My body would become wearied and languid. I do
not expect to think about it for one year; good bye to it, for the
present. I must carry out the labor of my mind, or I injure it. Can you
go to sleep in one minute, after you have said your prayers and gone to
bed? Can you cease reflection, bid good bye to thought, and say to the
body, compose yourself and let us go to sleep? How many now in this house
can do that? Whether it is natural, or supernatural, mental or
mechanical, it matters not, but I have trained myself to go to sleep when
I get ready, and when I am in good health, as a general thing, in about
one minute I can be fast asleep.
Until you can govern and control the mind and the body, and bring all
into subjection to the law of Christ, you have a work to perform touching
yourselves. I delight to talk upon he subject of our organization but I
must do so a little at a time, or I might weary your bodies and distract
your thoughts. Short sermons fitly spoken, are better than long ones ill
spoken. May God bless you, Amen.
DIFFICULTIES NOT FOUND AMONG THE SAINTS WHO LIVE THEIR RELIGION--ADVERSITY
WILL TEACH THEM THEIR DEPENDENCE ON GOD--GOD INVISIBLY CONTROLS THE
AFFAIRS OF MANKIND.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, March 16, 1856.
I feel very thankful for the privilege that I have enjoyed this
morning, and for the discourse that has been delivered to us, it is meat
and drink to me--it is joy and peace. Truly if we are good men, and good
women, we can make ourselves very comfortable and happy, otherwise we
shall be very miserable.
I believe that it is a hell intolerable for a people, a family, or a
single person, to strive to grasp truth with one hand, and error with the
other, to profess to walk in obedience to the commandments of God, and, at
the same time, mingle heart and hand with the wicked.
I believe that I should be one of the most miserable beings upon the
earth, if I did not enjoy the spirit of the religion which I profess. I
also believe that if every person, who professes to be a Latter-day Saint,
was actually a Saint, our home would be a paradise, there would be nothing
heard, nothing felt, nothing realized, but praise to the name of our God,
doing our duty, and keeping His commandments.
There are thousands of individuals in these valleys, and I may say
thousands within this City, men, women, and children, who are constantly
minding their own business, living their religion, and are full of joy,
from Monday morning until Saturday night.
On this account, they do not obtrude themselves and their acts upon
the notice of the public, hence, they are known but by few. Probably my
beloved brother Vernon, who has spoken to you this morning, is not known
by many of this congregation, for since his arrival in our midst he has
been quietly and industriously practising the principles of our religion.
For this reason a formal introduction of brother Vernon to the
congregation might by some have been deemed necessary, but with me
"Mormonism" is, "Out with the truth," and that will answer our purposes,
and is all we desire.
Brother Vernon came here with Elder Taylor, when he returned from
Europe. He is not known except by a few of his associates, who have been
laboring with him at the Sugar Works. But, suppose he had been guilty of
swearing in the streets, of getting intoxicated, of fighting, and
carousing, he would have been a noted character, and there would hardly
have been a child but what would, by this time, have known brother Vernon;
and the expressions would have been, "O, he is the man we saw drunk the
other day, the one whom we heard swear and saw fight; the one who was
tried before the High Council for disorderly conduct, or reproved before a
General Conference for his wickedness.
But brother Vernon is almost entirely unknown, because he has lived
his religion, kept the commandments of God, and minded his own business.
So it is with many in this City, they are known but by few, they live
here, year after year, and are scarcely known in the community, because
they pay attention to their own business.
They live their religion, love the Lord, rejoice continually, are
happy all the day long, and satisfied, without making an excitement among
the people. This is "Mormonism." I wish we were all so, I should then
indeed be very much pleased.
I think such a state of society would answer my happiness, not
particularly my spiritual enjoyment, for I know that in that particular I
must be happy for myself. I must live my religion for myself, and enjoy
the light of truth for myself, and when I do that all hell cannot deprive
me of it, nor of its fruits.
My spiritual enjoyment must be obtained by my own life but it would
add much to the comfort of the community, and to my happiness, as one with
them, if every man and woman would live their religion, and enjoy the
light and glory of the Gospel for themselves, be passive, humble, and
faithful; rejoice continually before the Lord, attend to the business they
are called to do, and be sure never to do anything wrong.
All would then be peace, joy, and tranquility, in our streets and in
our houses. Litigation would cease, there would be no difficulties before
the High Council and Bishop's Courts, and courts, turmoil, and strife
would not be known.
Then we would have Zion, for all would be pure in heart. I should be
pleased if we had a few more thousands of such men as brother Vernon.
That class, I am happy to say, is increasing, this I can truly say, for
the encouragement of this community.
When we reflect upon how many strangers we gather to these valleys,
those who formerly believed some of the various creeds of the day, which
did not fully inform them upon the principles of the Gospel, who come
clothed upon with many of the diverse traditions and customs of different
nations and neighborhoods, and how harmoniously they mingle, how few
differences exist among them, how little strife and wickedness, it is a
subject full of consolation.
Still there is much more strife than we should have, yet, with all,
consider how easily, under these varied circumstances, we get along, how
easily we pass the time, and with what little difficulty. I can say in
truth, for the comfort and credit of this community, that the Latter-day
Saints are indeed improving.
Do you hear of any difficulty among those long tried and proven, or
among that portion of younger members who are thoroughly imbued with the
principles of the Gospel? Rarely.
You seldom find persons who have been reared in this Church, or who
were very young when their parents came into the Church creating any
difficulties. They grow into the truth; they understand those principles
which are taught; they know the very foundation and essence of the Gospel,
they are schooled in the first rudiments of the education of the
Saints--in those principles which are designed for the people in their
childhood, while learning the science of government.
These principles seem to be lost to the world, judging by their
present operations. Bother [sic] Vernon beautifully portrayed this fact.
The principle of correct government seems to be lost by the world, seems
to be taken from the nations.
The very rudiments of the Gospel of our salvation teach the
principles best adapted to control the child, and if so, of course, best
designed to guide his steps when he has advanced further in life. And if
best for instruction in the government of one, they must be for that of
two, and if for that of two, then they must needs be for that of a family,
of a neighborhood, of a nation, and of the whole earth.
No man ever did, or ever will rule judiciously on this earth, with
honor to himself and glory to his God, unless he first learn to rule and
control himself. A man must first learn to rightly rule himself, before
his knowledge can be fully brought to bear for the correct government of a
family, a neighborhood, or nation, over which it is his lot to preside.
Is the spirit of the government and rule here despotic? In their use
of the word, some may deem it so. It lays the ax at the root of the tree
of sin and iniquity; judgment is dealt out against the transgression of
the law of God.
If that is despotism, then the policy of this people may be deemed
despotic. But does not the government of God, as administered here, give
to every person his rights? Does it not sustain the Methodist as well as
the "Mormon?" The Quaker equally as well as the Methodist, in his
religious rights? The Jew as well as the Gentile? It does. It will
sustain all the religions, sects, and parties on the earth in their
religious rights, just as much as it will sustain the Latter-day Saints in
theirs. Not that the diverse creeds are right, but the agency of the
believers therein demands protection for them, as well as for us.
The law of God is pointed against sin and iniquity, and where they
appear it is unbending in its nature and must, sooner or later, hold
sovereign rule against them, or righteousness could never prevail.
Do we not see this exemplified in a portion of sacred history? When
there was rebellion in heaven, judgment was laid to the line and
righteousness to the plummet, and the evil were cast out. Yet there was a
portion of grace allotted to those rebellious characters, or they would
have been sent to their native element.
But they must go from heaven, they could not dwell there, they must
be cast down to the earth to try the sons of men, and to perform their
labor in producing an opposite in all things, that the inhabitants of the
earth might have the privilege of improving upon the intelligence given to
them, the opportunity for overcoming evil, and for learning the principles
which govern eternity, that they may be exalted therein.
I know that this people are improving, notwithstanding we have trials
and are called to pass through difficulties, and have to endure a season
of scarcity.
I tell you honestly that I do not know when I have been more
thankful, in all my life, than I have to see the pinching hand of want
compel every man and woman to pray God our Father, to give us day by day
our daily bread.
It makes me happy, inasmuch as the people will not otherwise
understand that the Lord does feed them. In years of plenty their
understandings seemed closed to this fact, they did not appear to realize
that the Lord made the earth fruitful, and caused it to yield its fruit
bountifully.
And while our flocks and herds were increasing upon the mountains and
plains, the eyes of the people seemed closed to the operations of the
invisible hand of Providence, and they were prone to say "It is our own
handy-work, it is our labor that has performed this."
The people are so blinded, when they are prospered, that they do not
realize that it is all due to the direct providence of that God who is
truly invisible to the world, but whose operations should not be
unacknowledged by this people.
It seems to be so interwoven with our nature, while we are blessed
and surrounded with all the comforts of the earth, to forget that the Lord
furnishes these things to us, [sic-punc] Then I say that I rejoice, when
the Lord brings us into circumstances calculated to make us aware that if
we are fed it is Him that feeds us, that if we are clothed it is Him that
clothes us, for we cannot do it ourselves, that if we get bread to eat,
from this until harvest, it must be the hand of the Lord that furnishes
it, for of ourselves we cannot obtain it.
I am glad to see you brought into a state where you may begin to
think and realize from whence your blessings flow. The Lord rules and
reigns.
If we could see and understand things as they are, we would
understand that there is not a king upon his throne, that there never has
been from the forming of the earth to this time, without the Lord bringing
about the circumstances which placed that king in that position. There
never was one dethroned, without the Lord moving the circumstances to
cause it.
There never was a nation built up and prospered, except by the hand
of the Almighty, and there never was a nation crushed and brought to
naught, without its being done by the generalship--the invisible workings
of Providence.
The ancient proverb reads, "Whom the gods would destroy, they first
make mad," and it is written that the Lord will destroy the wicked, and
He has done so by bringing about circumstances to cause them to destroy
themselves.
Do you suppose that the Lord would have ever given a king to Israel,
if they had not required one at His hands? No, He would have been their
king and ruler, and there would have been a Prophet to guide them, had it
not been for their rebellion. They made choice of a king, and God gave
them one in His anger.
Their rebellion against the law, the agency given to them allowing
their free choice, induced them to ask for a king, and God gave them one.
Was it the Lord's choice that they should have an earthly king? No,
it was not His mind and will, but it was the will of the people,
consequently, He brought about circumstances to give them kings and
rulers, according to their desire, and to bring judgments upon them.
The Prophet Joseph has been referred to, and his prophecy that this
people would leave Nauvoo and be planted in the midst of the Rocky
Mountains. We see it fulfilled. This prophecy is not a new thing, it has
not been hid in the dark, nor locked up in a drawer, but it was declared
to the people long before we left Nauvoo. We see the invisible hand of
Providence in all this; we realize that His hand has wrought out our
salvation.
Through His control of circumstances this people have been removed
from civilization, and have been brought to inhabit these vales among the
Rocky Mountains, to dwell in these desolate and barren plains where no
other people, that we have any knowledge of, would live one year, if they
could get away. The providence of God has brought us here.
Are we here in fulfillment of prophecy? The world say that the
Prophet knew nothing about it, that the Lord had nothing to do with it,
that the "Mormons" became obnoxious to them and had to leave, because they
were the weakest party and their enemies the strongest. "No, God knew
nothing about all this, He had no hand in it, but we could not live with
you Mormons." They said, "We Methodists Presbyterians, Baptists &c.,
cannot live with you, one of us must leave, which shall it be? You
Mormons must leave, if we can drive you." They herald forth that, "It was
us who drove you to the Rocky Mountains as every one knows who is
acquainted with your history."
"The Mormons must leave and go where no other people will go, and
live where no other people can or will live." The world cannot see the
hand of the Lord in all our moments, they have not eyes to see, nor hearts
to understand that the Lord showed the future to the Prophet Joseph, and
brought it before him in vision. They cannot understand that the Lord
produced all the circumstances which effected the removal of this people.
They do not now understand that the Lord is building up His kingdom on the
earth, is gathering His Israel, for the last time, to make a great and
mighty nation of this people.
Circumstances have planted the Saints in the midst of the mountains,
have given them a Territory and a Territorial Government, and will, ere
long, give them a free and independent State, and justly make them a
sovereign people. Circumstances will accomplish all this. Now, in the
name of common sense, who rules these invisible circumstances? Is it you,
or I? True, to a certain permitted degree, we rule, govern, and control
circumstances, in a great many instances, but, on the other hand, do not
circumstances control us? They do. Who has guided all these
circumstances, which neither we nor the Prophet knew anything about? Was
it in the power of a single man, or of any set of men, to create and
control the circumstances which caused this people to be planted within
these mountains? The moment that you say it was not, you acknowledge the
workings of a Supreme Power.
The world, and those of us who are destitute of the spirit of the
Gospel, will say, "Oh, it happened so." Two years ago there was a hue and
cry from east to west, from north to south, and it was heralded forth in
the papers throughout the States and all Europe, that "Governor Young says
he is Governor of Utah and will be, and that President Franklin Pierce
cannot remove him from the gubernatorial chair." I ask, am I removed? Is
not Brigham yet in the chair? God has ruled in all these things, though
we may not know it. I said then, and I shall always say, that I shall be
Governor as long as the Lord Almighty wishes me to govern this people.
Do you suppose that it is in the power of any man to thwart the
doings of the Almighty? They may as well undertake to blot out the sun.
I am in the hands of that God, so is the President of our nation, and so
are kings, and emperors, and all rulers. He controls the destiny of all,
and what are you and I going to do about it? Let us submit to Him, that
we may share in this invisible, almighty, God-like power, which is the
everlasting Priesthood. We cannot thwart the plans and purposes of the
Almighty. Do the world comprehend that if this people are faithful to God
they will become a mighty people? No. It has been leaked out, to a few
individuals, that the government of the United States is going to send
troops here to drive out the "Mormons." I say to such threateners, cease
your folly, for you can only do as God permits you.
When certain immaculate judges went from here, they were going to
obliterate "Mormonism." What did they accomplish? They did all they
could, and, like an empty sound, their vaporings passed away and are known
no more, neither are those judges known. Where is Mr. Branderbury? Is he
seated in the President's chair, under the wings which shadow this nation?
Does he control the strength and power of any part of the American Union?
Where is he? The last we heard of him he was in Washington, doing a
little writing for this, that, and the other lawyer, when he could get any
to do, and attending to cases as a lawyer, when he could get a few dollars
for transacting a little business of that kind, for this or that man;
running from office to office, and from pillar to post, to obtain a
living. He is a tolerably good man, after all; and, if he had done as I
counselled him, he would have stayed here, and let that other judge go.
Mr. Brandenbury was a good sort of a man, he never had any difficulty with
me, and would have done well, if he had only had sense enough to know that
he could not obliterate "Mormonism." But he thought that his associate
was going to blow the advocates of truth out of existence, when he might
as well blow towards the sun to puff it out.
When men operate against this people, they may spend all they possess
and all their ability, and it will pass away like an empty sound, and they
will be forgotten. Such persons have always come to naught, and all who
fight against the people of the Most High will continue to come to naught.
Who that has lifted his heel against Joseph has ever prospered, from
the day he found the plates, from which the Book of Mormon was translated,
until now? No man. So it will be with all others who leave this
community thinking to injure them. Show me the priest, the church, the
people, the state, or nation, that will prosper in lifting the heel
against the kingdom of God which is built up upon the earth. They cannot
prosper in such a course. Do not be fearful, brethren, you and I will
live here just as long as the Lord wishes us to. If I have fears about
anything, it is that you and I will not live our religion; if we do this I
am at the defiance of all the wicked. I sometimes become excited when I
talk about them, and so do my brethren. Why? Because we are made of
flesh, blood, and bones like other men, and sometimes our feelings are
warm, when we think about the conduct of our enemies. But what do the
pure principles of the Gospel teach us? "Be still, and know that I am
God, that I rule in the heavens above, and perform my pleasure on the
earth, and that I turn the hearts of the children of men, as the rivers of
water are turned?" He asks no odds of anybody. Who does He call upon to
counsel Him, to dictate Him in the affairs of His rule on the earth? He
is the Father, God, Saviour, Maker, Preserver, and Redeemer of man. He
holds in His hands the issue of all things, and will judge every man
according to his works. I will be Governor so long as God permits, and we
will live here, and have hard winters and unfruitful summers, and suffer
the ravages of the destroying insects--what for? To bring us to our
senses; I am thankful for it.
Those of you who have come here without breakfast this morning, do
not go more than five days without eating. When you have gone that long
without food, make your wants known to your neighbors and tell them that
you need something to eat, and if you come to me I will feed you. I have
sustained my family comfortably with eight ounces of bread stuff a-day, to
each individual. I have had my children come to me and ask, "Shall I give
away my rations to-day?" We have plenty of potatoes, and I presume that
my family does not consume, on an average, more than five ounces of bread
stuff a-day to each person. We have had plenty ever since the first year
we came here.
Be mindful, and do not go too long without eating. Notwithstanding
the scarcity, I say to those who send their children to beg from house to
house, and who are lugging home a dozen loads a-day--stop that. There are
families now in this city, who profess to be out of provisions, sending
their children out to beg, and selling flour and meat for money to carry
them to the devil; now stop that. I say to you Bishops, appoint
assistants to visit every house in your Wards, and instruct them to take
the liberty of lifting up the chest lids, and of looking under the floors
and under the beds, for I tell you that some will hide their provisions
and lie to you, and tell you that they have nothing, while they are
getting money for the flour, &c., which their children beg from this
community, to carry them to hell, or back to the States, or to England. I
say to such as are compelled to beg, when you have received a sufficiency
to supply your wants, stop. When the month of June arrives, and the
fields are teeming with their golden fruits, there will be plenty of wheat
and flour for sale in these streets, for there is a reasonable supply of
those articles of food. This is a word of encouragement, therefore do not
go too long without eating, and if you are now brought to the pass which
compels you to call upon the Lord, saying, "Lord, feed us, for unless thou
feedest us we cannot be fed; my Father open the way that I may get a
little bread to feed myself and children, or I shall not be able to get
it," I say, good, glory, hallelujah, that you are brought to your knees
to confess His power, and to acknowledge His hand. That you may be
faithful is my prayer, all the day long, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
PREACHING--NECESSITY OF THE SAINTS HAVING CONFIDENCE IN THOSE OVER
THEM--NECESSITY OF WISDOM IN DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ARE DEAD TO GOOD
WORKS--IGNORANCE OF WORLDLY PHILOSOPHERS--THE PRINCIPLE OF LIFE
AS SHOWN IN THE DISOLUTION [sic] OF ORGANIZED MATTER.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, March 23, 1856.
I rise desiring that what I may say may be instructive, edifying, and
beneficial to the people. At times, when I think of addressing you, it
occurs to me that strict sermonizing upon topics pertaining to the distant
future, or reviewing the history of the past, will doubtless please and
highly interest a portion of my hearers; but my judgment and the spirit of
intelligence that is in me teach that, by taking such a course, the people
would not be instructed pertaining to their every day duties. For this
reason, I do not feel impressed to instruct you on duties to be performed
a hundred years hence, but rather to give those instructions pertaining to
the present, to our daily walk and conversation, that we may know how to
benefit ourselves under the passing time, and present privileges, and be
able to lay a foundation for future happiness.
Still, I love to hear historical narrations, to hear the Elders
vividly portray the important events which transpired in the days of the
Prophets, the Savior, and the Apostles, and it also cheers my heart to
hear the Elders of Israel illustrate the beauties and glory of Zion, in
the future. Yet, when I reduce it all to the duties of the religion we
profess, I realize that it is of vital importance for us to know how to
lay a present foundation for our future destiny, that we may attain that
exaltation, happiness, and glory, which we anticipate, hence, I confine my
remarks, more particularly, to the practical part of religion.
Again, we often have strangers in our midst, and, perhaps, some who
never heard one of our Elders preach, until they came to this valley, and,
no doubt, they would like to hear a systematic sermon upon the first
principles of the Gospel, to have the speaker formally quote his text,
divide it into four or five heads, and expatiate upon each part, and
illustrate the beauties of Christianity in former days, and picture the
scenes of suffering which the former-day Saints had to pass through, and
then prescribe the duties that pertain to the people, but not the
individual. Some might prefer to have the speaker dwell upon the general
duties devolving upon the community, but not upon duties pertaining to the
individual, prefering [sic] something or other to please the natural
feelings of mankind.
This does not suit my disposition, for I am in favor of that
instruction which will enable us, this day, to receive the blessings
offered and teach us to appeciate [sic] them, that we may be prepared to
enjoy the glory that has been revealed. That is my "Mormonism," my
reflections, my judgment, and the spirit in me dictates this course, not
to speak merely to gratify those who prefer to hear pleasing, delightful
discourses, which sound smoothly to the ear and lull the hearers to sleep.
What we have heard from brother Frost this morning is that which I am
upon all the time, it was practical religion. Suppose we should actually
enjoy the light of truth, to such a degree that we could always foreknow
important events--that we had the spirit of prophecy insomuch that we
could foresee our future destiny, would we not lay a foundation to secure
our best interests? We most certainly would. It would be the constant
aim of our daily conduct, to secure to ourselves and our families that
happiness and comfort which we desire.
Is it possible for us to do this? It is. There are many who do not
know and understand for themselves. Now let each person of that class ask
himself this question--"Even though I do not know and understand for
myself, is it reasonable that I should have confidence in those who do?"
and, through the weakness and blindness of fallen nature, he would answer,
"No." Still it would be best could it be so, for those who are blinded to
their own interest to have confidence in those who do know and understand
what is for their good, to trust in them, take their counsel, and do in
all things as they are told. But, no; the spirit of apostacy, the neglect
of duty, tend to cast a vail over the minds of people, and when they
cannot see and understand for themselves, they say, "I think I know as
well how to dictate my own affairs as does brother Brigham, or any other
brother."
They have no confidence in anybody, and can have none in themselves,
for they do not know themselves. They do not comprehend their existence,
and were it not that they get tired, and wish to rest, they would scarcely
realize that they had a body; and when their stomachs become empty and
crave food, they are prompted, like the brutes, to seek for something to
eat. This is the case with some in this congregation, they have but
little more idea of what they are, who they are, and what will be their
future destiny, than has the stall-fed bullock that is fatted for
slaughter.
What is the matter with them? The god of this world has blinded
their minds, they give way to selfishness, covetousness, and divers other
kinds of wickedness, suffer the allurements of this world to decoy them
from the paths of truth, forget their God, their religion, their
covenants, and the blessings they have received, and become like beasts,
made to be taken and destroyed at the will of the destroyer.
This is the situation, not only of the great majority of the world,
but of many of the inhabitants of these valleys; they have no correct idea
of the day of destruction, the day of calamity; they have no realization
of the day of sorrow and retribution. They put these things far away and
do not wish to think about them, but say, "Let us eat, drink, and lay down
and sleep, and that is all we desire;" then like the brutes they are
happy. It never enters the hearts of the mass of mankind that they are
preparing for the day of calamity and slaughter.
This people have yet much to learn, even the best of them. For one,
I am aware that I know enough to do right to-day, as also do very many who
are now before me. If sin present itself to them they know what it is,
and know better than to give way to it. I know that it is not right to do
wrong, and so do the most of the people, and all may and should, as have
all who have received the spirit of the Gospel, and if this knowledge has
gone from them, it is because of transgression.
I have often referred to the wickedness of mankind, to how liable
they are to step out of the way, how easy it is for them to sin and not
know it, and how important it is that we should have compassion upon them;
yet mercy is not always to be extended to the people, judgment must claim
its right.
If we wish this Church and kingdom of God upon earth, to be like a
fine, healthy, growing tree, we should be careful not to let the dead
branches remain too long. You have seen limbs which you supposed
completely dead, yet when the genial influences of spring operate upon
them, only a twig or two of the branch proves to be winter killed.
The entire limb is not dead but still draws sustenance from the
trunk, and partly lives and is partly dead. It is so with some of the
members of this Church and kingdom, they partly live and partly do not
live. Sometimes they enjoy the spirit of the Gospel and feel quite happy,
and speak in prayer meetings, and sometimes make confessions of their
sins. Their hearts occasionally become a little warmed up, and at times
they feel and act as though they wish to bear fruit, and perhaps among the
twigs of the limb you may find here and there a cluster of fruit.
Sometimes such members of this kingdom will be found performing good acts
and doing their duty, and again they are overcome and turn away, that is
for a time, and seemingly enjoy none of the spirit of their religion.
In this manner they pass along, first to the right and then to the
left. By and bye they will either receive nourishment from the trunk of
the tree, shooting forth into the various twigs of the sickly branches,
filling them with life and vigour, and turning the diseased into thrifty
growing limbs, or the twigs will continue to die until there are none left
alive. Who can tell whether a limb is actually dead or not, without
proper time to test the matter? This is a point which ought to be closely
scrutinized by every Latter-day Saint. You see the failings of your
neighbor, he has performed an act to-day which you know is dishonest and
wicked, by and bye he does something else which is wrong, and you begin to
lose confidence in that person. When you saw no evil and many traits of
good in him, then you had a foundation for reposing implicit confidence,
but he commits a wrong act and your confidence begins to be shaken. You
see him commit another evil and another, but can you yet tell whether that
limb is alive or dead? I think that we, as a people, as individuals, have
got to learn more and more of the mind of God than we now possess, before
we are prepared to judge quickly, distinctly, and truly when limbs are
dead and should be severed from the body of the tree.
When we have learned that they are really dead, then there is danger
in suffering them to remain too long, for they will begin to decay and
tend to destroy the tree. When we are satisfied that a limb is dead we
clip it off close to the trunk, and cover up the wound that it may not
cause any more injury. That is the principle which brother Frost has just
been upon. But the nice point is, for us to be able to determine when a
limb is entirely dead. Twig after twig may die, and you may often see
half the limbs of a tree killed by the severity of winter, yet in the
course of the summer the living portion begins to rapidly put forth young
and tender branches, and the increase may be as great, perhaps, as though
no part had died. That proves the soundness of the trunk, even though
many twigs and branches have died. It requires great discrimination, to
be able to rightly decide upon the condition of persons in their religious
views, their honesty and integrity before God.
There are many in this kingdom who are as foolish as men and women
can well be, so much so that it would seem as though they never had sensed
moral instruction. They give way to wickedness, and outrage the feelings
of those who are truly moral, yet in their hearts they go all lengths for
the kingdom of God on the earth. They are willing to stand in the front
of the battle, to go to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel, or to
do anything they are called upon to perform, yet, when you examine their
morality, it highly outrages the feelings of those who are strictly moral
and honest in all their ways. Do you believe this? Yes, and many of you
know it.
Many of our boys who pay in the streets and use profane language,
know not what they are doing, but there are old men, members of the High
Priests' Quorum, and of the High Council, who, when they get into a
difficulty in the kanyon and are perplexed, will get angry and swear at,
and curse everything around them. I will insure that I can find High
Priests who conduct in this manner. But on their way home their feelings
become mollified, and they wish to plead with the Lord to forgive them.
Could you place yourselves in some of our kanyons, or in some other
difficult places, out of sight but within hearing, and hear some of the
brethren curse and swear at their cattle and horses, you would not have
the least idea that they had ever known anything about "Mormonism," but
follow them home and you may find them pleading with the Lord for pardon.
There are just such characters in our midst. Do you think they should be
cut off from the Church? I think that if the Presidents of Quorums would
chastise them it might be beneficial, at any rate it would not hurt them,
and if that will not do, disfellowship them, and let them know that they
must observe the laws of this kingdom, or eventually be cut off. If you
do not wish to disfellowship them, you who are without sin, take such men
into the kanyon, where they may bellow and bellow in vain, and give them a
good cowhiding, until they will remember, and be ashamed of themselves
when they take the name of God in vain, or lie.
You may take this counsel spiritually or temporally, just as you
please. Such characters ought to be whipped, so that they would remember
it to the day of their death, and if they do not then stop their lying,
swearing, cursing, and pilfering, I will tell them that sooner or later
they will be cut off from the Church and go to hell.
No unrighteous person, no person who is filthy in their feelings will
ever enter into the kingdom of God. I know that the inquiry is often
made, "What shall we do with such men?" I say chastise them. I have
reprimanded some of the brethren severely, and made them first-rate men;
it brought them to their senses. You may chastise them or take any
judicious course to bring them to their senses, that they may know whether
they wish to be Saints or not.
If we continue to sin, if we continue to neglect our duty and disobey
counsel, the light afflictions which have visited us in these mountains
are but as a drop to a bucketful when compared with what awaits us.
What a pity it is that a men who do not know how to govern themselves
in the kingdom of God, do not know enough to observe the counsel of those
who do know. A pity it is that men and women of mature age, but who have
not got a fair stock of good sense, do not know how to control and apply
what they do know. Such persons do not know enough to sit still and hear
from others, but they must always be indulging in their own gabble; their
tongues are like a flutter wheel in rapid motion, and their chatter flows
in a continual stream. We have men here who will come into this stand, and
preach you and I perfectly blind, figuratively speaking, and when they are
through they do not know themselves from a side of sole leather, with
regard to the things of God; they are all gab. What a pity it is!
I used to think, until I was forty-five years of age, that I had not
knowledge, sense, or ability enough to enable me to associate with the men
of the world, until I learned that the inhabitants of the earth were
groveling in darkness and ignorance, and that their professed knowledge
contained but few correct principles, that they were a set of automatons
on the stage of life, following the maxim, "As the old cock crows, so
crows the young." All the learned crow one tune, say one prayer, and
mainly act just alike. The learned world, so called, is a great mass of
ignorance. I was once conversing with a worldly philosopher concerning
the elements, and he told me how many there were. I informed him that we
were both ignorant on that subject, but that I knew enough to know that
there was a vast number of elements which philosophers had not yet been
able to classify and determine. I asked him if he would clearly and fully
define the nature and properties of the element called light, remarking,
you can philosophize, you understand chemistry, astronomy, and many other
sciences; now will you please inform me what puts the light in that
candle? He replied, "I cannot." He could not explain the nature and
properties of the light produced by the burning of a cotton yarn in
tallow. I said to him, do not talk to me any more about philosophy, and
your great learning and knowledge, when you cannot give me the least idea
of the properties of light.
So it is with the world's philosophy. All the learning and knowledge
upon the face of the earth cannot, of themselves, make or produce a spear
of grass, or the smallest leaf upon a tree. Do you know where they come
from and what produces them? I know their origin and mode of production,
and so do you, though you may not, in your reflections, have fully carried
out the ideas connected with that subject. I will give you one item which
pertains to what I call natural, true philosophy; and if a philosopher of
the day could understand it and explain it to the world, learned
institutions would send him sheep skins conferring praise and titles.
I will bring to your minds what I have formerly stated with regard to
the spirit's entering the body. Our bodies are composed of visible,
tangible matter, as you all understand, you also know that they are born
into this world. They then begin to partake of the elements adapted to
their organization and growth, increase to manhood, become old, decay, and
pass again into the dust. Now in the first place, though I have explained
this many times, what we call death is the operation of life, inherent in
the matter of which the body is composed, and which causes the
decomposition after the spirit has left the body. Were that not the fact,
the body, from which has fled the spirit, would remain to all eternity
just as it was when the spirit left it, and would not decay.
What is commonly called death does not destroy the body, it only
causes a separation of spirit and body, but the principle of life,
inherent in the native elements, of which the body is composed still
continues with the particles of that body and causes it to decay, to
disolve [sic] itself into the elements of which it was composed, and all
of which continue to have life. When the spirit given to man leaves the
body, the tabernacle begins to decompose, is that death? No, death only
separates the spirit and body, and a principle of life still operates in
the untenanted tabernacle, but in a different way, and producing different
effects from those observed while it was tenanted by the spirit. There is
not a particle of element which is not filled with life, and all space is
filled with element; there is no such thing as empty space, though some
philosophers contend that there is.
Life in various proportions, combinations, conditions, &c., fills all
matter. Is there life in a tree when it ceases to put forth leaves? You
see it standing upright, and when it ceases to bear leaves an fruit you
say it is dead, but that is a mistake. It still has life, but that life
operates upon the tree in another way, and continues to operate until it
resolves it to the native elements. It is life in another condition that
begins to operate upon man, upon animal, upon vegetation, and upon
minerals when we see the change termed dissolution. There is life in the
material of the fleshly tabernacle, independent of the spirit given of God
to undergo this probation. There is life in all matter, throughout the
vast extent of all the eternities; it is in the rock, the sand, the dust,
in water, air, the gases, and, in short, in every description and
organization of matter, whether it be solid, liquid, or gaseous, particle
operating with particle.
I have heard some philosophers argue that because no body could move
without displacing other matter, therefore there must be empty space.
That reasoning is nonsense to me, because eternity is, was, and will
continue to be full of matter and life. We put a ship in motion on the
water, and have we created an empty space? No, we have only changed the
position of matter. Men and animals move upon the earth, birds and fishes
cleave the elements they are organized to operate in, but do they leave a
track of empty space? No, for all eternity is full of matter and life.
True, element is capable of contraction and expansion but that does not by
any means imply empty space. You see life in human beings and in the
growing vegetation, and when that spirit of life departs, another
condition of life at once begins to operate upon the organization which
remains. By way of illustration I will quote one passage from the book of
Job, who in his afflictions was visited by several friends, and after he
had concluded that they were all miserable comforters, he exclaimed,
"Though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." To
make this passage clearer to your comprehension, I will paraphrase it,
though my spirit leave my body and though worms destroy its present
organization, yet in the morning of the resurrection I shall behold the
face of my Saviour, in this same tabernacle; that is my understanding of
the idea so briefly expressed by Job. If you wish to know how the quoted
passage reads, see Job, 19 chapter, 26 verse, King James' translation.
I have formerly spoken about the spirits overcoming the flesh; the
body or flesh, is what the devil has power over. God gave Lucifer power,
influence, mastery, and rule, to a certain extent, to control the life
pertaining to the elements composing the body, and the spirit which God
places into he body becomes intimately connected with it, and is of course
more or less affected by it.
Now let some of our philosophers tell us how much empty space there
is, and where it is, in all the eternities that exist, or in other words,
where life is not. The term death is often used to accommodate the
understandings of the people but they are in darkness upon this subject.
The spirit leaves a body, and then that body begins to pass away by
another system of life. I might enlarge upon the death pertaining to this
time, and the death that will be hereafter, but itis [sic] all upon the
same principle, it is plain, simple, natural philosophy, and our religion
is based upon it.
I will now leave that subject and ask, will you lay a foundation for
your future happiness?
Quite a number of men came here the first season besides the
pioneers. Brother Frost was one of the pioneers, and probably one of the
first who hammered iron in this region since the days of the Nephites. He
has travelled through the Territory north, south, east, and west, wherever
he has been sent. He has also crossed the Pacific ocean, and is again
right here on hand--not dead yet. There are many others who have held on
in the same way, who have not turned aside but have remained here, or gone
where they have been sent.
As I was observing last Sabbath, such persons are the characters who
are not generally known, throughout our community, as are the drunkards,
and men who go to law; those are the men of notoriety, but the others are
men of sense, men who mind their own business. Still, do not go to
cutting off twigs before they ought to be cut off, but if they prefer it,
let them go to California and put their gold and silver into the hands of
the devil, for I ask no odds of them, and expect I could buy the whole of
them so far as property is concerned. However, be merciful to them. I
say to those men and women who cannot stay here because famine threatens
the land, because we are threatened with being distressed, and through
fear that we shall all die, just go, won't you? for you are nothing but
hinderances [sic].
We have lifted you up, as we do poor horses that are down and cannot
help themselves, and we have nursed you, year after year, and as soon as
you could stand alone, you kick at your benefactors. As soon as you get a
hundred dollars in money, and two or three yoke of cattle, you are ready
to say, "I want to go to the devil now," and say, go, but as the Lord
Almighty lives, you will meet sore chastenings, and pass through much more
sorrow than if you were to continue Saints and remain with the Saints.
And after you are handled by the devil until you are willing to do as
the Lord wishes you to, then you will be glad to come here and black the
boots and shoes of such men as brother Frost, and will have to do the
drudgery to all eternity, or as long as the faithful have a mind to keep
you. The poor miserable curses--I call them so because they are
cursed--will prowl around and serve the devil, will run back and forth,
and go to California and to the States, and here and there, and at the
same time pretend they wish to be Saints.
What will be done with such people? God Almighty will make them our
servants. You had better stay here and die, if die it is. California is
not the gathering place for the Saints; here is the gathering place, and
here we will gather and stay until God says, "Go somewhere else."
If that is back to Jackson County, do not be scared, for as the Lord
lives this people will go back and build a great temple there. Do not be
frightened because a few rotten, corrupt scoundrels in our midst cry out,
"O, the troops are coming, and that will be the end of 'Mormonism,'" in
order to deceive the weak-minded females.
Should you see little boys playing with pebbles and small sticks, and
hear them say, "Get out of the way, we are going to build a great big
structure, that we may climb to the sun, and pull it down," their words
and conduct would be just as sensible as it is for the world to tell us
that "Mormonism" is going to be destroyed. If we do right we need care no
more about them than we do about musquitoes [sic], for this people will
surely go back to Jackson County. How soon that may be, or when it may
be, I do not care; but that is not now the gathering place for this
people.
You will find a great many "Mormons" who have lived in the States
ever since they were driven from Missouri, and who still have a wish to be
"Mormons," but they mingle with the world, and some have joined the
Methodists, some the baptists, &c., so as to be on hand when this people
go back to Jackson County. Then they expect to walk into Zion; but when
that day comes they will be only far enough advanced to black the shoes of
the faithful, dig trenches hew wood, and draw water, and perform such
other labors as may be required of them, while the Saints dictate the
affairs of this kingdom. They think that they are going to slip in with
the crowd, but they will find themselves mistaken, for if any one presents
them saying, "Let this or that man in," I will reply, "He stayed in
Missouri all the time that the Saints were in the wilderness." I should
want to baptize such characters, and then send them to preach to the
spirits in prison. After they have been there a long time, we will then
send them to make our farms, attend to our gardens, to our horses and
stables, and to do all the drudgery. They may complain and say, "Really
brother Joseph, we have been good Saints all the time," and Joseph will
reply, "Come here and let me anoint your eyes," then he will touch their
eyes, and they will turn round and exclaim, "Let us be doorkeepers, or do
anything else, that we may stay with you. Now we have eyes to see, ears
to hear, and a heart to understand; we see that we have been fools."
They will labor under the guidance and dictation of the Elders who
have ben faithful. Joseph and his faithful brethren will be at the gate,
and the unfaithful cannot pass. They think that Jesus will be there, and
that if he is there they will have the privilege of seeing him, and that
they may gain an entrance, but if they have the privilege of seeing Joseph
Smith's coat tail, they may think themselves well off. If the Father, the
Son, and the holy angels are there, they will only attend to the general
oversight of affairs, and the faithful of this people will have the
privilege of determining who is worthy of admission.
This is my philosophy with regard to the duties of the Saints.
Now if philosophers will point out where empty space is, I will pay
them for their trouble, because all the wicked will be running to me to
know where it is, that they may be where God does not dwell, for they will
want the rocks and mountains to fall on them to hide them from His
presence. I could make money by directing poor devils where empty space
is. May God bless you. Amen.
DISINCLINATION OF MEN TO LEARN THROUGH THE TEACHINGS AND EXPERIENCE
OF OTHERS--LATTER-DAY SAINTS COMPARED WITH THOSE OF FORMER
DAYS--SACRIFICE--SHEEP AND GOATS--CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, April 20, 1856.
Sometimes I think it quite strange that the children of men are so
constituted as to need to be taught one lesson all the time, and again it
is not so marvellous to me, when I reflect upon and understand their
organization, and the designed effect thereupon of this state of
probation. Men are organized to be independent in their sphere, are
organized for an independent being, yet they have, as soldiers term it, to
run the gauntlet all the time. They are organized to be just as
independent as any being in eternity, but that independency, in order for
them to occupy a position in the sphere of an independent being having
control over all things, must be proved and tried while in this state of
existence, must be operated upon by the good and the evil.
It is not so strange to me that the people should continually need
talking to, that they should continually need instructing, when I take
this view of the matter. Mothers when bringing up their children, if they
will observe and reflect, can see and understand the feelings of the whole
human family. The mother says to the child, "Don't do that; you must not
handle those things;" but the little child thinks itself just as capable
of handling a tea cup, or a tumbler, as are father and mother. The little
girl takes up a broom to sweep the hearth, but if mother is not watching
her she may let the broom take fire and set it by the bed, and thereby the
bed and then the building be set in a blaze. In the actions of their
children parents can detect the course of all, from the king upon his
throne to the humblest peasant, they are all performing their part on the
theatre of the earth.
People may be advanced far in life, and yet be surrounded by
weaknesses comparatively like those of children. The man or woman of
eighty, sixty, forty, twenty, or the child of two or five years of age,
have something ahead of them to attain to, and which they are striving to
accomplish. There is a principle in the feelings of people which is
implanted in their organization expressly for them to become independent,
to become Gods, and it is continually urging them to reach forward and to
wish to do and perform that which they do not understand. These
weaknesses are in the organization, irrespective of age. True, persons can
do many things at twenty-five years of age which they could not do when
but five years old, and men may know much more at fifty than at twenty,
yet the same common weakness is apparent which you can see exhibited in
the little child. There is one rule to adopt, one course to pursue, one
lesson to be learned, and it is applicable alike to all ages, from the
child of one or two years old to the grey-haired veteran, and which, if
they would learn, would prove highly beneficial, and that is, to do those
things which they know they can do, and when required by a superior to do
a thing they never have done, to take the advice of those who have
successfully performed the same act, and then with the best skill they can
command, do as they are told, and thus further their education in life and
be satisfied.
If the child could understand and be satisfied that the mother knows
better than it does, when it is told to let the dishes alone, the broom,
or the pin-cushion, or not to swing on the table lest it be turned over
and break the dishes, or not to do this or that, and that such and such
things it might do, it would be a great aid to it to take the course laid
down by a judicious parent, and would save it much trouble while passing
through its mortal career. I ask myself why it is that people do not
learn to be satisfied and contented with what they do know, until they are
instructed and learn more, and practise this principle in their lives. We
are taught here all the time to be passive and contented, to do the things
we know how to do. Still I have no question, but what, if I could
unobserved and unknown to them listen to the remarks of many of the
Elders, or of brethren and sisters, I should hear doctrines taught and
suggestions made which God never designed to have His servants teach. At
the same time remarks such as these might be dropped, "I am impressed and
the Spirit leads me thus and so; true I believe all that is written and
taught, but I tell you that brother Brigham does not tell us all of it; he
says he does not, but that he tells us as fast as we can understand and
practise what he does teach." Now that is true; but all do not stop and
reflect, neither do they fully understand the principles of the Gospel,
the principles of the holy Priesthood; and from this cause many imbibe
the idea that they are capable of leading out in teaching principles that
never have been taught. They are not aware that the moment they give way
to this hallucination the devil has power over them to lead them on to
unholy ground; though this is a lesson which they ought to have learned
long ago, yet it is one that was learned by but few in the days of Joseph.
I was speaking about this matter last night, about the feelings of
the people towards the Prophet Joseph. The mass of the people never
realized, to the day of his death, but what Joseph was made by them. They
actually believed that he was amenable to the people, that he did not know
it all, and that other men knew things which he did not know concerning
the kingdom of God on the earth.
Here let me give you one lesson that may be profitable to many. If
the Lord Almighty should reveal to a High Priest, or to any other than the
head, things that are, or that have been and will be, and show to him the
destiny of this people twenty-five years from now, or a new doctrine that
will in five, ten, or twenty years hence become the doctrine of this
Church and kingdom, but which has not yet been revealed to this people,
and reveal it to him by the same Spirit, the same messenger, the same
voice, and the same power that gave revelations to Joseph when he was
living, it would be a blessing to that High Priest, or individual; but he
must rarely divulge it to a second person on the face of the earth, until
God reveals it through the proper source to become the property of the
people at large. Therefore when you hear Elders, High Priests, Seventies,
or the Twelve, (though you cannot catch any of the Twelve there, but you
may the High Priests, Seventies, and Elders) say that God does not reveal
through the President of the Church that which they know, and tell
wonderful things, you may generally set it down as a God's truth that the
revelation they have had, is from the devil, and not from God. If they
had received from the proper source, the same power that revealed to them
would have shown them that they must keep the things revealed in their own
bosoms, and they seldom would have a desire to disclose them to the second
person. That is a general rule, but will it apply in every case, and to
the people called the kingdom of God at all times? No, not in the
strictest sense, but the Spirit which reveals will impart the proper
discretion. All the people have not learned this lesson, they should have
learned it long ago.
As I have already observed, comparatively few learned, in the days of
Joseph, that he was placed between the people and God, that they had no
more right to dictate him than they had to dictate the angel Gabriel, that
they had no more business to interfere with him, or call him to an
account, than we have to call to an account the angel Gabriel.
This we all ought to understand, and also how and when to teach and
practise what we do know, and when we have done that much then stop until
we learn more.
I know, and so do many others, by experience, by what we have seen
and passed through, by what has passed before us and by what we have seen
in others, that when the devil cannot overcome an individual through
temptation to commit wickedness, when he sees that a person is determined
to walk to the line and travel straight forward into the Celestial
Kingdom, he will adopt a course of flattery, will strive to exercise a
pleasing influence and move along smoothly with him and when he sees an
opportunity he will try to turn him out of the way, if it is only to the
extent of a hair's breadth. And if he cannot keep a person this side the
Gospel line, he will walk with that individual on the line and strive to
push him over.
That is so invariably the case that people need eyes to see, and
understanding to know how to discriminate between the things of God and
the things that are not of Him. Will this people learn? I am happy and
joyful, I am thankful, and can say of a truth, brethren and sisters, that
the manifestations of goodness from this people are not to be compared, in
my opinion, with those from any other people upon the face of the whole
earth since the days of Enoch.
Old Israel, in all their travels, wanderings, exercises, powers, and
keys of the Priesthood, never came nigh enough to the path this people
have walked in to see them in their obedience that was and is required by
the Gospel. Yet there are thousands of weaknesses and overt acts in some
of this people, which render us more or less obnoxious to each other.
Still, you may search all the history extant of the children of
Israel, or that of any people that ever lived on the face of the earth
since the days of Enoch, and I very much doubt, taking that people with
their traditions, and comparing them with this mixed multitude from the
different nations now in the world with our traditions, whether you would
find a people from the days of Enoch until now that could favorably
compare with this people in their willingness to obey the Gospel, and to
go all lengths to build up the kingdom of God.
I have said a great many times, and repeat it now, and whether I am
mistaken or not I will leave for the future to determine, and though, as I
do, Joseph when living reproved the people, that I believe with all my
heart that the people who gathered around Enoch, and lived with him and
built up his City, when they had traveled the same length of time in their
experience as this people have, were not as far advanced in the things of
the kingdom of God.
Make your own comparisons between the two people, think of the
traditions of the two. How many nations were there in the days of Enoch?
The very men who were associated with him had been with Adam; they knew
him and his children, and had the privilege of talking with God. Just
think of it.
Though we have it in history that our father Adam was made of the
dust of this earth, and that he knew nothing about his God previous to
being made here, yet it is not so; and when we learn the truth we shall
see and understand that he helped to make this world, and was the chief
manager in that operation.
He was the person who brought the animals and the seeds from other
planets to this world, and brought a wife with him and stayed here. You
may read and believe what you please as to what is found written in the
Bible. Adam was made from the dust of an earth, but not from the dust of
this earth. He was made as you and I are made, and no person was ever
made upon any other principle.
Do you not suppose that he was acquainted with his associates, who
came and helped to make this earth? Yes, they were just as familiar with
each other as we are with our children and parents.
Suppose a number of our sons were going to Carson Valley to build
houses, open farms, and erect mills and workshops, and that we should say
to them that we wish them to stay there five years, and that then we will
come and visit them, when I go there will they be afraid of me? No, they
would receive me as their father, just as Adam received his Father.
The very man who walked and talked with and knew the God of heaven,
and knew and understood all about making this earth had associates who
were associated with Enoch, and yet twenty-five years of the travel and
experience of Enoch with his people had not advanced them so far, in my
opinion, as this people have advanced in the same time, taking into
account the difference of traditions and other advantages.
They had not a diversity of languages, but all spoke one language;
they were not trained in the various traditions in which we have been, for
they received only one from Adam; they were as intimately associated as we
would be in living in this City two hundred years, with the gates shut
down upon all egress and ingress, and under such circumstances do you not
think that our traditions would be all alike?
Yet Enoch had to talk with and teach his people during a period of
three hundred and sixty years, before he could get them prepared to enter
into their rest, and then he obtained power to translate himself and his
people, with the region they inhabited, their houses, gardens, fields,
cattle, and all their possessions. He had learned enough from Adam and
his associates to know how to handle the elements, and those who would not
listen to his teachings were so wicked that they were fit to be destroyed,
and he obtained power to take his portion of the earth and move out a
little while, where he remains to this day.
You know that I sometimes reprove you because you deserve it, yet
there is a constant and rapid increase of willingness to build up this
kingdom.
Where is there a woman that would say to her husband, or to her son,
"I do not wish you to go on the mission you have been called to perform"?
That would say "It is true you were called, but I do not like to have you
go, cannot you get excused and stay at home?" I do not believe you could
find five such women in this Territory.
There may be a few who are going to California that would say, "Yes,
you may go on your mission, but I will go with you." All they desire is
to get away. Can you find five such women?
I care not if they should be old ladies of seventy-five years of age
and had not the first thing to subsist upon, and though their whole
dependence was upon their sons or husbands, they would say, "Go John, my
son; or, go husband, if you do not we shall suffer; but if you go and do
your duty God will provide for us in your absence." Are not these the
feelings of every wife and mother?
In the midst of all this some talk about sacrifices, but upon that
point I wish to be allowed to differ from the class who view the matter in
that light.
There may be some few exceptions, but I have made no sacrifices.
"Mormonism" has done everything for me that ever has been done from me on
the earth; it has made me happy, it has made me wealthy and comfortable;
it has filled me with good feelings with joy and rejoicing. Whereas,
before I possessed the spirit of the Gospel, I was troubled with that
which I hear others complain of, that is, with, at times, feeling cast
down, gloomy, and desponding; with everything wearing to me, at times, a
dreary aspect.
But have the trees, the streams, the rocks, or any part of creation
worn a gloomy aspect to me for one half minute since I came in possession
of the Spirit of this Gospel? No, though before that time I might view
the most beautiful gardens, buildings, cities, plantations, or anything
else in nature, yet to me they all wore at times a shade of death.
They appeared at times as though a vail was brooding over them, which
cast a dark shade upon all things, like the shade of the valley of death,
and I felt lonesome and bad. But since I have embraced the Gospel not for
one half minute, to the best of my recollection, has anything worn to me a
gloomy aspect, under all circumstances I have felt pleasant and cheerful.
When surrounded by mobs, with death and destruction threatening on
every hand, I am not aware but that I felt just as joyful, just as well in
my spirit, as I do now. Prospects might appear dull and very dark, but I
have never seen a time in this Gospel but what I knew that the result
would be beneficial to the cause of truth and the lovers of righteousness,
and I have always felt to joyfully acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all
things.
When I was among the wicked, they looked to me as do the wicked, and
when I saw devils possessing the bodies of the children of men I knew that
God permitted it, and that He permitted them to be on the earth, and
wherein would this be a state of probation, without those devils? We
cannot even give endowments without representing a devil.
What would we know about heaven or happiness were it not for their
opposite? Consequently we could not have got along so well and so rapidly
without those mobocrats. And if mobbers should happen to come here do not
look too sour at them, for we need them.
We could not build up the kingdom of God without the aid of devils,
they must help to do it. They persecute and drive us from city to city,
from place to place, until we learn the difference between the power of
God and the power of the devil.
But does it then follow that we should say to them, "Come on here, we
are good fellows well met?" By no means, care must be observed that we do
not overrun the rule; we only need enough of them to help do up the work.
If we should get too many here they would overcome the good, and the
Saints would have to flee.
Some of our Elders desire all the time to say, as I plainly phrase
it, "How do you do brother Christ, and How do you do brother devil? Walk
in and take breakfast with me."
I consider such men useful in their places. This fact was very
clearly exemplified to me in a dream which I had while so many were going
to California, at a time when many of the brethren were under quite an
excitement about the Saints going there to dig gold.
I thought considerably about the movement, and there had been a
feeling abroad among the people that when the Saints got into the
mountains "judgment would be laid to the line and righteousness to the
plummet," that the axe would be laid at the root of the tree, and that
every person who did not meet the measure would, in accordance with the
iron bedstead rule, be chopped off if too long, and stretched out if too
short.
Several supposed that this would be the case; and perhaps thought
that they would be able to so sanctify themselves, that in one year they
could take Great Salt Lake Valley and the regions round about up to Enoch,
or have him come here. I did not so view the matter, and did not give any
special instructions upon it.
At that time I dreamed that while I was a little below the road and
just north of the Hot Springs, about four miles from here, I saw brother
Joseph coming and walked up to the road to see him, and asked him where he
was going? He replied, "I am going north."
There were two or three horsemen along, and some men were riding with
him upon a few boards placed loosely upon the running gears of a wagon,
upon which were also a tent and camp utensils. I wished to talk with him,
but he did not seem inclined to conversation, and it occurred to me that
he was going to Captain James Brown's to buy all his goats.
I had been promised ten or a dozen of them, but I thought that he was
going to buy every one, and that I should not get a single goat to put
with my sheep, and I laughed in my sleep.
Pretty soon he came back, with a large flock of sheep and goats
following the wagon, and as I looked upon them I saw some sheep that were
white, pure, and clean, and as large as a two year old cow, with wool from
ten to twenty inches in length, as fine as silk and as white as the driven
snow.
With them were all lesser sizes down to the smallest goat or sheep I
ever saw, and all mixed up together. I saw some sheep with hair like that
of goats, and goats of all colors, red, black, white, &c., mixed with the
sheep; and their sizes, colors, and quality of fleeces, seemed to be
almost innumerable.
I remarked to Joseph that he had got the strangest flock I ever saw,
and looked at him slyly and laughed, and asked him what he was going to do
with them. He looked at me in his usual shrewd manner and replied, "They
are all good in their places."
On awaking I at once understood the dream, and I then said, go to
California, or where you please, for goats are as good in their places as
sheep, until the time for them to mingle is over. And in striving to
guide and improve the flock we sometimes have to cry out, shoo, and at
other times to draw them nigh by calling, sheep, sheep.
We are trying to train the flock, and to turn the goats into sheep,
and the spotted, ring-streaked and speckled into beautiful white, and how
shall we succeed? Perhaps we shall see rather a curious flock at last,
but we will do the best we can.
Sometimes I rise up here and really feel to storm at some who are in
this community, for their conduct is awful, it is outrageous. I presume I
could come here this afternoon and eat bread and drink of the cup, in the
name of Israel's God, with men who would go straight from the communion
and steal my property.
Let us consider this point a little, for this matter has been through
me, round me, over me, and under me; I have turned it inside out and round
about and looked at it, and then I have turned it over again. Brother
Fullmer has just alluded to the rails disappearing from fences. Are not
your fences taken? Is not you clothing taken when it is hung out to dry?
And is not wood taken from your wood piles? How many have to lock up
their wood, or lose it? Taking property without leave from the owner is
what I call stealing, but many who practise that do not so understand it.
Even if I had to work by the day for bread, wood, clothing, and
comforts for myself and family, and should then without authority go and
take wood from brother Joseph's wood pile, were he living here and
President of the Church, my judgment, what I know of right and wrong, the
traditions of my fathers, and the teachings of my parents and of the
neighbors where I was brought up would all confirm me in the belief that I
was stealing. Do all persons feel so? No, they do not.
During two or three of the past winters, except the last, I have no
question but that women and children carried from one to three cords of
wood per day from my woodyard, and when the wood was scarce they would
take my fence poles. I have myself seen the take back loads of wood and
then fill their bags with the chips and small sticks, but when they took
my fence poles and posts I stopped them, and told them that if they were
not satisfied with taking my wood without taking my fencing to leave my
yard, and not to come there to steal any ore.
But do I see some there yet? Yes, you may see women and children
carrying away my wood every day. If my workmen ask them what they are
doing, they reply "Brother Brigham said I might have some wood, he will
not say anything." Do you suppose that those persons fully realize that
they are stealing? No.
I will tell you a little that I know about the difference in
traditions and customs, and will go no further than where I have traveled
and preached. A large number of the inhabitants in the old countries are
tenants, renting houses for longer or shorter periods, generally for from
three to twelve months.
Now suppose that A, when vacating a house, accidentally leaves his
pocket-book in a cupboard, and that B, who next occupies the same
building, finds A's pocket-book with perhaps, twenty sovereigns in it;
what does the custom of that country warrant in such a case? Their
traditions are such that B claims that property as his own, and A cannot
get it, unless B is honest enough to give it up.
B's course in that case may not be in accordance with law, but it is
according to custom, which in such instances is stronger than law.
An American would consider, if he was to find hand irons left in the
fireplace, or a chair of sofa left in the sitting-room, that the former
tenant had the right to call and take them away; and if he was to
undertake to smuggle any of those things he would consider himself
stealing.
That difference of feeling and conduct arises from the difference
there is in the traditions of different countries. In America a man would
as soon venture to go into his neighbor's house and steal a chair, as to
retain one accidentally left there by a previous occupant. I will notice
another difference in traditions.
Among various other occupations I have been a carpenter, painter and
glazier, and when I learned my trades and worked, both as journeyman and
master, if I took a job of painting and glazing, say to the amount of one
pound sterling, or five dollars, and through my own carelessness in any
manner injured the work or material, I considered it my duty to repair the
injury at my own expense.
In Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, or anywhere else in England if you
employ a glazier to work to the value of one pound, ten or fifty pounds,
and he can manage in any way to put the windows in such a position that
the wind will blow them over and break them, he will do it, in order to
get the work to do over.
Do they think they do wrong? No. Why? Because their employers
would make them do their work for nothing, and then compel them to live on
roots and grass if their physical organization could endure it, therefore,
says the mechanic, "If I can get anything out of you I will call it a
godsend."
Servants into he houses of the great ones, if they can get anything
out of their masters besides their wages, call it a godsend. If they can
take bread, eat, butter, and cheese, without the masters knowing it, to
support their wives, others, fathers, children, brothers, and sisters who
are not capable of taking care of themselves, they will put that provision
in their possession, to keep them from starving to death, and call it a
godsend.
Let me do that in this country, and I should consider myself a
culprit, according to my judgment and traditions. No matter if I were
suffering for bread, and at the same time working among millions of it, if
I could not procure it by my labor, I must ask for it and have it given to
me, for if I got it in any other way, I must consider myself a thief. Are
the Americans altogether excusable? No, for if I wish to find the rough
and ready ones, I can do it as quick in America as any where else.
Shall I tell you what are some of the traditions of a few of the
Americans? Yes. If they have not all they need to eat, drink, or wear,
and find an ox or cow on the range over Jordan, or any where else, that
belongs to me or you, and can take that animal and kill it they will do
so, and then sell the meat to you and me, and call that a godsend, and
say, "O we are all of one family." That is an American tradition among a
few; but as a general thing, the customs of this country and the
traditions of the nations across the great waters differ materially.
When I went to England the brethren and sisters would not have me to
shave on the Sabbath, they would pay any price to have me shave on
Saturday. Said I, "I will shave on Sunday morning, if I have no time to
do so on Saturday." I told them that I did not come there to learn their
customs and traditions, but to teach the people the Gospel of salvation.
That we had traditions in America with regard to blacking boots, shaving,
&c. on Sunday, as well as they, but if I had no time to do that work on
Saturday I would do it on Sunday, if I deemed it necessary. And if I
wished to go to meeting and worship God, it was just as acceptable to do
so on Saturday as on Sunday.
Adam Clark is taken by any as a standard amongst the comentators, and
it is said, if the clock struck twelve on Saturday night, and he happened
to have but one shoe blacked, that he would drop the blacking and brushes,
and go to meeting next day with one shoe blacked and the other unblacked.
That might by some be esteemed a pious example, and by others a wayark to
the kingdom of folly.
Such are a few of the traditions extant among different people. I
have no question but that any in our community do things which are
actually sinful if they did but know them right, but their traditions are
such that they act with impunity, and pass on as unconcerned and
unconscious of wrong as if they had just been on their knees praying. If
we live long enough together, we shall have a tradition of our own, and
that is, to be so trained in the law of the Celestial kingdom, to so learn
the law of right, as to be able at all times to know right from wrong, and
then always to do right. Is this the case now? No.
Suppose that several of the brethren were to go for fuel and timber
in Red Bute kanyon, where we generally went when we first came to this
Territory. Some go on up the kanyon cutting a tree for timber in one
place, and preparing fuel for loading in another, while others follow up
with their teams, and you know that when they get a little brush-whipped
they are apt to become angry, to forget themselves a little, and to say,
"Damn it," and directly one will begin to say to himself, "This kanyon is
as much mine as any persons; I think I shall take this tree and this wood
that are already cut."
Another comes across a wagon that is broken down, and takes one of
the hounds from it and puts it into his own. Still another passes by
where somebody has lost an axe; he finds it and takes it along, saying,
"Well, it is lost here, we are away in the wilderness, these are as much
my premises as any one's; I will take out this helve and put in another,
and grind the axe over a little, and nobody will know it; thank the Lord,
I have an axe now."
Do you know that some people feel and act in that manner? I know
they do. Some will find wood cut in the kanyon and load it on their
wagons, perhaps that which grandad, with his crippled libs, had toiled
hard to collect together; but that makes no difference, they pile it on,
saying, "I believe I am blessed of the Lord, I am much favored of Him
to-day," and come out rejoicing, having found a load of wood already cut.
But what have they done? They have found loads of wood cut to their
hands, and apparently have not reflected but what an angel had cut it
expressly for them. This is a tradition and custom of the Mountains.
Some of you may inquire whether I believe what I am talking about. Let me
tell you what I have observed; two or three years ago I went up City Creek
kanyon to show a man where he might get wood on shares, which I was having
cut. I came to where my men were cutting wood and brush to clear out the
road, and I told them to pile it so that my teamster could drive up and
load it handily. Soon afterwards and old gentleman came along and,
without any privilege from me, drove off the man to whom I had just
engaged the wood and began to load it on his wagon. That individual was
an old Saint, one who had been twenty years in this Church.
What is the feeling with some of the Yankees, English, Scotch, Irish,
French, Germans, &c? "We have come to Zion where all things are common."
The devil has put this idea into the minds of some, and the devil, I was
going to say, cannot take it away from them. They possess this feeling,
and they are determined to have it so. With such the idea is, "We are
all children of one parent, we all belong to the household of faith, we
are one family, and we will have it so, and will not be beat out of it."
This notion is partly right and partly wrong, and, as I have often
said, people ought to know how to discern between the things that are of
God and the things that are not of God. This is the spirit they receive
in the first place--"Ye are one in Christ Jesus," and that is right, but
are we one out of Christ Jesus? Many would like to have it so. You have
come here from all quarters to be one family, yet if some of you come
across a wagon wheel, you will appropriate it to your own use, asking no
leave; or if you have no axe, you will get one from some part of the great
family, and thank God for an axe; and if you come across piles of wood,
that you have not labored to cut, you shout, "Thank God, hallelujah, I
have found some wood ready cut to my hand." That is being one out of
Christ.
Others will say, "Let us take down this fence, and turn our cattle
into this meadow." You can find plenty of earth and pole fences purposely
thrown down, and might hear the trespassers exclaim, "O, this is Father's
land, let us enjoy it." Others will say, "Damn it, it is mine as well as
yours." I will take some of the reputed best men now in this
congregation, who, through carelessness and thoughtlessness, when they
have done their forenoon's work on their five acre lots, turn out their
cattle in other people's oats, wheat, or grass, while they lay asleep.
Yes, some of the would-be-thought best men in this congregation are sure
to keep their cattle on their neighbor's lots, and off from their own, and
should you pass along and rouse them up, saying "Why, brethren, your
cattle are in my oats," they would reply, "Really, brother, I did not know
it, I turned them out a little while, and lay down to rest."
All such people deserve whipping and scolding, and require much
training. What for? Not for their goodness, their faith, obedience,
honesty, and anxiety to build up the kingdom of God, but for their
careless, indolent feelings, for their stupidity in laying down and
permitting their animals to trespass upon their neighbor's crops, for
trying to train themselves into the belief that it is right to take this
or that, or to do thus and so, when it is not strictly according to the
law of God. You and I have got to learn better things.
Let this land come into market and the brethren buy sections, half
sections, or quarter sections, and soon, and how soon you would hear,
"Bless you, now we have law to defend us." Can you not see that tradition
makes the brethren, where there is a little difficulty, walk into the
court room with all the confidence imaginable, feeling almost like little
gods,and exclaiming, "Now things will be done as they should be, matters
will go right now." And what is done? Why, the lawyers and court take
pretty much all the money; for a debt of five dollars taken into court
they will expend one hundred dollars of your means in lawyers' fees, jury
fees, and other court expenses, when the question could have been settled
in five minutes.
This is an American tradition, though there are fortunately many
exceptions to the power of this general tradition. Some men will go into
court and spend five hundred dollars and feel as nicely about it as
possible, even when their case has not been adjudicated as justly as a
sensible "Mormon" boy, ten years old, would do it. And yet, when they
know this fact full well, they will spend their time, day after day, and
their means with seeming contentment, saying to themselves, "Oh, if we can
only go into the court, and address the court, and say, may it please the
court, may it please your honor, may it please you, gentlemen of the jury,
O, how joyous we shall be--we shall feel as though we were men of some
importance, if we can only get up and strut and splutter before a court."
Even when merely a judge is sitting there, like a bean on the end of a
pipe stem, who would be flipped off should a grain of good sense happen to
strike him, how big he feels while sitting there for days to adjudicate a
case that should not require five minutes.
We have got to learn better than to practise and follow after such
nonsense, and learn the principle and law of right. That is the doctrine,
the tradition which this people have got to come to. Will they come to
it? Yes, or be damned, one or the other. I would not give the ashes of a
rye straw for all the law that was ever made on this earth, outside of
that which has come from heaven, to control a righteous man, neither would
any man or woman that desires truth and righteousness. Cannot you observe
the law of righteousness as easily as you can observe the poor, miserable,
sunken laws devised by a set of wicked men? Some may reply, "My
traditions will not let me."
How do you suppose that the Lord looks upon litigation? It is just as
mean and contemptible, in the eyes of angels and of the Almighty, to go to
law, and thereby wrong a fellow being, as it is for you to go and steal my
property, yet some of you justify yourselves in going to law, and in your
other false and unholy traditions. Learn the law of Christ and let alone
the traditions of the children of men; make the law of Christ your
tradition, for we have got to come to this position.
I will now return to where I began, and again ask, why do you require
to be talked to so much? You know right from wrong; there is hardly a
person here, but what knows right from wrong, then why do you not all do
right? Because of your filthy traditions and dispositions. I have often
sincerely and absolutely thought that the doctrine and practice of a
certain lawyer was in the end strictly worldly wise; he first studied
divinity and preached to the people for the salvation of their souls,
until he learned that they did not care so much for their spiritual as for
their temporal salvation, when he studied and practised medicine, but soon
discovered that the poor miserable wills of men were more to them than the
salvation of their bodies, and he finally studied law and indulged all his
clients in the expensive gratification of their wills, which was dearer to
them than the salvation of soul and body.
When we have an antipathy towards a person, the temptation is strong
to be revenged, and one is inclined to say,"I will do this and that, and
will let the passion of the moment control me." But we have to learn the
law of Christ, and to train ourselves to it until it will become the
tradition of this people, and then you can bring up your children in the
way they should go. In every nation, community, and family, there are
peculiar traditions, and the child is trained in them. If the law of
Christ becomes the tradition of this people, the children will be brought
up according to the law of the celestial kingdom, else they are not
brought up in the way the should go. Children will them be brought up in
the way they should go. Children will them be brought up, under the
traditions of their fathers, to do just right, and to refrain from all
evil, and when old they will not depart from a righteous course. Solomon
could not carry out this principle in his life, because he was not
thoroughly brought up in the way he should go. The old Indian adage is
rather the most applicable to the present practise of many, viz., "Train
up a child, and away it goes, as it pleases."
If this people could be shut out from all communication with other
people, and have no customs and traditions introduced foreign to the law
of Christ, we should soon see eye to eye, and our traditions would be
framed according to the celestial law; and we should then be prepared to
bring up our children in the way they should go.
I have spoken with much plainness concerning several traditions and
practices, in order that the Saints abroad may correctly understand that
we are not all, as yet, fully sanctified by the truth, and that both they
and the world may know that the Gospel net still gathereth fish of every
kind, that the flock has some goats intermingled with sheep of various
grades, and that they day of separation has not yet arrived. May God
bless you. Amen.
IRRIGATION--EVERY SAINT SHOULD LABOR FOR THE INTEREST OF THE
COMMUNITY--IT IS THE LORD THAT GIVES THE INCREASE--ETC.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, June 8, 1856.
I wish to say a few words before this meeting is dismissed, upon the
subject of the Big Cottonwood Canal. I have been along the line of the
canal, more or less, during nearly every day of the last week, and I will
say, for the gratification of the Bishops and brethren present, that I
think they have done extremely well. A great many men have labored on
that canal during the past week, and had it not been for faith, or the
Spirit of the Lord upon them, many might have sunk with fatigue, for they
looked as though they would faint; but they have labored faithfully. What
was absolutely necessary to be done a week ago to-day could have been done
in one week, if all the labor could have been judiciously applied, an the
portion we derived to finish this season would have now been completed.
But such drawbacks will occur, when time cannot be previously taken to
make the proper estimate and distribution of men and teams for different
points of the work. With the circumstances under which we commenced last
Monday morning, it could not be expected but what there would be more or
less confusion and misapplication of labor; but even with these
disadvantages the work has prospered extremely well.
If we can get the water of Big Cottonwood as far as Big Kanyon, as
ditches have already been opened from the last named point, we can water
the five acre lots and about one-third of the city; but we expect to
continue operations until we bring the water to the termination of the
canal above the city, on the north side. The large reservoirs formed by
the embankments across the deep ravines will hold an immense quantity of
water, and we wish to have them speedily finished for containing water to
be used when we need it.
In regard to irrigation, I will venture to say that one-half of the
water is wasted; instead of being applied where and when it is needed, it
runs here and there, and perhaps one-half reaches the drooping plants. If
people would take a little more pains in preparing ditches, gates, and
embankments for economically conducting water where it is most needed, it
would be very great advantage to them.
When water is brought to the termination of the canal, which we can
accomplish in a few days, I presume that the reservoirs on the line of the
work and those portions which are excavated in full will contain water
enough to allow the people to irrigate when necessary, and thus do away
with the practice of watering only two hours a week on a city lot, and
much of that to be done in the night. And that is not all, for by the time
the water is fairly on a lot it is taken by the next person whose right it
is to use it. And lots which have had thousands of dollars expended on
them, and which would yield more than a thousand dollars' worth of fruit
and vegetables, could they be properly irrigated, are only allowed a small
stream of water for two hours once a week, and at the same time and
adjoining lot planted with corn, the hills six feet apart and one stalk in
a hill, comparatively speaking, the balance of the ground being covered
with weeds, is allotted the same time and amount of water as the one on
which the fruit trees and other choice vegetation are worth thousands of
dollars.
There ought to be are formation in the distribution of the water.
The man who will not raise five dollars' worth of produce on his lot, has
the same water privilege as the man who could raise a thousand dollars'
worth. For instance, brother Staines gets the water for two hours in a
week, and what are his fruit trees worth? He could make his thousand
dollars a year from them, if he were disposed to sell the fruit instead of
giving it away, could he have a fair portion of water. I have a lot just
below him well cultivated in fruit trees, a nursery, and choice
vegetables, I also can only have the water on my lot for two hours in a
week; when lots near by, with but little on them except weeds, get the
same water privilege, and that too in the day time, while we have to use
it in the night. Water masters ought to look to this matter, until they
have arranged a more just distribution.
So soon as we can complete the canal and its reservoirs, the people
will be enabled to water their gardens thoroughly, which will be scores of
thousands of dollars advantage to this city yearly, besides the immense
benefit to the farming lands. There is much grain growing in the city
lots, and many persons have spaded their ground, not having teams to plow
with, consequently their lots are better cultivated this year than
heretofore, and we wish to water them that we may not lose our labor. If
we can have your help for a few days more, we shall bring much more water
to the city than we now have.
I have personally interested myself very diligently in the labors
upon the canal, and have endeavored to follow the instructions of brother
Kimball during last Sabbath. Who has been impoverished by our labor? Who
has been injured by it? Not a single individual, old or young. Who is
benefited by it? The whole community: every man, woman, and child. This
canal will be a lasting benefit; without it we may be discouraged with
regard to the farming interests of this portion of the valley. We expect
to see this canal completed. I know that some have thought it would be
almost impossible to complete such a work here, to secure the banks of the
deep ravines, but we shall not leave it until it is completed.
Shall we stop making canals, when the one now in progress is
finished? No, for as soon as that is completed from Big Cottonwood to
this city, we expect to make a canal on the west side of Jordan, and take
its water along the east base of the west mountains, as there is more
farming land on the west side of that river than on the east. When that
work is accomplished we shall continue our exertions, until Provo river
runs to this city. We intend to bring it around the point of the mountain
to Little Cottonwood, from that to Big Cottonwood, and lead its waters
upon all the land from Provo kanyon to this city, for there is more water
runs in that stream alone than would be needed for that purpose.
If we had time we should build several reservoirs to save the waters
of City Creek, each one to contain enough for once irrigating one-third of
the city. If we had such reservoirs the whole of this city might be
irrigated with water that now runs to waste. Even then we do not intend
to cease our improvements, for we expect that part of the Weber will be
brought to the Hot Springs, there to meet the waters from the south and
empty into Jordan. Then we contemplate that Bear river will be taken out
at the gates to irrigate a rich and extensive region on its left bank, and
also upon the other side to meet the waters of the Malad. We know not the
end of our public labors and enterprises in this Territory, and we design
performing them as fast as we can.
Our preaching to you from Sabbath to Sabbath, sending the Gospel to
the nations, gathering the people, opening farms, making needed
improvements, and building cities, all pertain to salvation. The Gospel
is designed to gather a people that will be of one heart and of one mind.
Let every individual in this city feel the same interest for the public
good as he does for his own, and you will at once see this community still
more prosperous, and still more rapidly increasing in wealth, influence,
and power. But where each one seeks to benefit himself or herself alone,
and does not cherish a feeling for the prosperity and benefit of the
whole, that people will be disorderly, unhappy, and poverty-stricken, and
distress, animosity, and strife will reign.
Efforts to accumulate property in the correct channel are far from
being an injury to any community, on the contrary they are highly
beneficial, provided individuals, with all that they have, always hold
themselves in readiness to advance the interests of the kingdom of God on
the earth. Let every man and woman be industrious, prudent, and
economical in their acts and feelings, and while gathering to themselves,
let each one strive to identify his or her interests with the interests of
this community, with those of their neighbor and neighborhood, let them
seek their happiness and welfare in that of all, and we will be blessed
and prospered.
I do not wish to boast in the least, neither do I think much of
myself, nor ever did, nor do I ever pause much to think, in all my labors,
doings, travelings, toils, and preachings, whether I have friends or foes,
but the care that I have for this community I do manifest in my works.
Not that I think that I am extraordinarily praiseworthy, or that I am a
very good man, for you know that I have never professed to be a very
religious man; but what I wish you to do to your neighbor I do by you; but
I will not ask my Father in heaven to deal any more kindly with me than I
deal with my brethren.
My interest is the interest of this community; this has been
characteristic of my course from the beginning. I have witnesses here to
prove that, from the time I entered this kingdom until this day, this
community and its welfare have been my interest.
I have proven this all the time, and I prove it still. I have proven
it this year, in the scarce time we are passing through. Ask the poor
brethren and sisters who have come to me for bread if they have been
turned away empty. I have had a large amount of flour and means, for
among other property I have two of the best mills in the Territory, and a
large farm upon which I generally raise much wheat and other produce. I
have always raised more grain than my family consumed, and in these scarce
times find the man or woman that I have taken fifty cents from for flour.
I have had money offered to me, but I have told such persons to go
and buy where flour is for sale; I have none to sell.
In all my transactions in this community I have acted in a similar
manner. What do I get for taking such a course? When I came into this
valley I owed for my outfit; I had but little; I do not think that one
third of my family had shoes to their feet, and I had no leather from
which to make shoes.
We came with what we had, and I borrowed oxen from one man, and
horses from another, which I have since paid for, besides paying thousands
of dollars for my poor brethren who could not pay.
What the Lord has done for me, you all know. Have I wronged any man,
or pinched any man in a time of trouble, or in any way taken an advantage
of his necessities? Bring forward a man whom I have wronged, and I will
restore to him not only four but tenfold. My hands are open; I have
naturally an open hand, it does not contract on the needy like that.
(Holding his hand with the fingers shut.)
Neither am I like the miller who striked the toll dish with a
crowning hand, thus leaving the grain convex, but who, when he quit
milling and opened a tavern, reversed his hand and left the grain concave.
I do not wish you to deal any better by me than I do by you, neither
do I wish God my Father do deal any more kindly towards me than I do
towards you. How came I by what I have? We may dig water ditches, make
canals, sow wheat, build mills, and labor with our mights, but if God does
not give the increase we remain poor. Though we bestow much labor upon
our fields, if God does not give the increase we shall have no grain.
How few there are who fully understand this matter, who realize
thoroughly that unless God blesses our exertions we shall have nothing.
It is the Lord that gives the increase. He could send showers to water
our fields, but I do not know that I have prayed for rain since I have
been in these valleys until this year, during which I believe that I have
prayed two or three times for rain, and then with a faint heart, for there
is plenty of water flowing down these kanyons in crystal streams as pure
as the breezes of Zion, and it is our business to use them.
I do not feel disposed to ask the Lord to do for me what I can do for
myself. I know when I sow the wheat and water it that I cannot give the
increase, for that is in the hands of the Almighty; and when it is time to
worship the Lord, I will leave all and worship Him. As I said yesterday
to a Bishop who was mending a breach in the canal, and expressed a wish to
continue his labor on the following Sabbath, as his wheat was burning up,
let it burn, when the time comes that is set apart for worship, go up and
worship the Lord.
When Bishops and the brethren can perceive and understand that it is
the Lord that gives the increase, after all their exertions to sustain
themselves, they will be satisfied that the glory belongs to Him, and not
altogether to the exertions of man. You know Paul says that he considered
himself an unprofitable servant, and so is every other man; that is, when
we have done all we can to save ourselves, spiritually and temporally, it
is the Lord who gave us the means.
He opened up the way of life and salvation, organized the elements to
sustain our mortal bodies, and thus afforded all the means for increase.
It is all through the wisdom of Him who has created all things, who rules
over and sustains all things.
Have the Latter-day Saints got to learn this? Yes. And they have
got to learn that the interest of their brethren is their own interest, or
they never can be saved in the celestial kingdom of God.
While saying a few words here last Sabbath about the canal, I told you
when you lifted your hands to heaven, in token of your willingness to do a
certain thing that you ought to do it. A great many of you have had your
endowments, and you know what a vote with uplifted hands means.
It is a sign which you make in token of your covenant with God and
with one another, and it is for you to perform your vows. When you raise
your hands to heaven and let them fall and then pass on with your
covenants unfulfilled, you will be cursed.
I feel sometimes like lecturing men and women severely, who enter
into covenants without realizing the nature of the covenants they make,
and who use little or no effort to fulfil them.
Some Elders go to the nations and preach the Gospel of life and
salvation, and return without thoroughly understanding the nature of a
covenant. It is written in the Bible that every man should perform his
own vows, even if to this own hurt; in this way you will show to all
creation and to God that you are full of integrity.
This people have got to entirely wake out of their sleep, they have
got to be a strictly righteous people, or they will have to meet worse
things than a scanty morsel of bread.
Do they believe this? Some think--"Well, perhaps it will be so, and
perhaps not. I have a little flour now, and I really want the money, and
if I can get twelve or thirteen dollars a hundred for it I can spare it."
This is the principle some persons operate upon, and it is
sectarianism. It seems of the long-faced deacon style, who, when a poor
man wants flour for his wife and children, in measured tone and with a
long religious face, says, "No;" but who, after long importunity on the
part of the hungry man, will at last, in a very soft, measured, pious,
long-faced, sighing style, reply, "Well, brother, I have not any to spare,
but I don't know but that if you will come and work for me a couple of
days in harvest, I will spare you a bushel to accommodate you. I shall
have to hire labor at harvest, can you come and help me?"
The answer is, "Yes," when at the same time he knows that he can have
two bushels a day for work in harvest, but the long-faced deacon will make
him agree to work two days for one bushel.
I have heard of a man in this city who was stopped from building a
house. Why? Because he got first-rate mechanics to work for five pounds
of flour a day, which is at the rate of thirty cents a day. His Bishop
told him that he could not build a house in his Ward upon any such
principle.
Do you suppose that such a man is fit to belong to any church? Yes,
to Joe Bowers' church, and his was a hell-fired church.
You who have surplus flour hoarded up, give it to the poor,and say
that you will trust in God.
The first year that I came into this valley I had not flour enough to
last my family until harvest, and that I had brought with me, and persons
were coming to my house every day for bread. I had the blues about one
day; I went down to the old fort, and by the time I got back to my house I
was completely cured. I said to my wife, "Do not let a person come here
for food and go away empty handed, for if you do we shall suffer before
harvest; but if you give to every individual that comes we shall have
enough to last us through."
I have proven this many a time, and we have again proven it this
year. I have plenty on hand, and shall have plenty, if I keep giving
away. More than two hundred persons eat from my provisions every day,
besides my own family and those who work for me.
I intend to keep doing so, that my bread may hold out, for if I do
not I shall come short.
Do you believe that principle? I know it is true, because I have
proven it so many times.
I have formerly told this community of a circumstance that occurred
to brother Heber and myself, when we were on our way to England. We paid
our passage to Kirtland, and to my certain knowledge we had only $13.50,
but we paid out #87.00; this is but one instance among many which I could
name.
You who have flour and meat, deal it out, and do not be afraid that
you will be too much straightened, for if you will give, you will have
plenty, for it is God who sustains us and we have got to learn this
lesson. All I ask of you is to apply your heart to wisdom and to watch the
providences of God, until you prove for yourselves that I am telling the
truth, even that which I do know and have experienced.
I have experienced much in my life, and I will not ask you to do any
better by one another nor by me than I do by you, and I will bless you all
the time. I feel to bless you continually; my life is here, my interest,
my glory, my pride, my comfort, my all are here, and all I expect to have,
to all eternity is wrapped up in the midst of this Church.
If I do not get it in this channel, I shall not have it at all. How
do you suppose I feel? I feel as a father should feel towards his
children. I have felt so for many years, even when I durst not say so; I
have felt as a mother feels towards her tender offspring, and durst not
express my feelings; but I have tried to carry out their expression in my
life. May God bless you. Amen.
REMARKS ON A REVELATION GIVEN IN AUGUST 1831--GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, June 15, 1856.
I will read a revelation printed in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, and given in Zion in August, 1831. It was given in
Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, I think during the first time that
Joseph was in that land. (The President read the revelation, section 18.)
I do not anticipate, in the few remarks that I shall make, throwing
any particular light upon this revelation, especially to those who are
acquainted with the circumstances under which it was given,.
When revelations are given through an individual appointed to receive
them, they are given to the understandings of the people. These
revelations, after a lapse of years, become mystified to those who were
not personally acquainted with the circumstances at the time they were
given.
The revelation that I have been reading may be as mysterious to our
children, in a thousand or fifteen hundred years from now, in case the
world continues in the same degree of enlightenment that it has for a few
ages past, as the revelations contained in the Old and New Testaments are
to this generation, and it would be commented upon with the same scrutiny
and accuracy; and men would study, year after year, and fret themselves
almost to death to find out the mysterious meaning of the revelation given
to us their forefathers.
This revelation is as plain and clear to the understandings of those
who know the circumstances that called it forth, as it would be for you to
understand me should I talk about making a canal to bring the waters of
Big Cottonwood to this city for irrigating our gardens and the farming
lands. It is plain and easy to be understood, it is familiar to us who
were in that country at the time, we know all about it.
But a portion of this congregation have not been personally
acquainted with the early experience and travels of this Church, and with
the sayings and doings of the Prophet Joseph, and it may be that they do
not fully understand what this revelation really does mean.
They do not actually know that there is such a place as Independence,
in Jackson County, Missouri; they have heard of it, and may have an idea
that it is situated in the regions where angels dwell.
The revelation which I have read was perfectly plain, and could
readily be understood by all the brethren then in Jackson County,
Missouri, and in Kirtland, Ohio, as easily as you can understand me when I
talk about digging canals, building dwellings, tabernacles, temples, and
store-houses, or when I talk about drawing sand and clay, burning lime,
&c.
Is it strange or is it not strange, to people endowed with wisdom,
that the inhabitants of the earth, beclouded as they are, should have such
revelations given to them? Is it strange or is it not strange that they
should reject them?
Would this be a hard question for the congregation to answer?
Looking at these things, after the manner of the wisdom of the world, we
say that it would be very strange indeed, as a certain professor would
say, "It would be passing strange."
It would be strange indeed should people receive such ideas, upon
such subjects, as revelations from God, from the Supreme of the Universe,
the great Eloheim, the Creator and upholder of all things, who is
enthroned in eternity in glory and in power, yet who condescends to talk
about such matters as building store-houses, sending men to do this or
that, to go to this or that land, to gather up money for this or that
purpose. And very many would exclaim, "O, it is money, money, money!"
That has been the cry continually from the enemies of the kingdom of
God. You know that was the cry in the days of Joseph; "O, he is after
money, you can see this is in all his revelations; money, money, money; he
wants to get your money! He pretends it is going into the hands of the
Bishop to purchase lands, but when he gets hold of it you do not get it
again. It is money, money, money, all the time."
The commands to go and buy this or that farm, to build houses, sell
out a farm here and rent one there, take a mission to preach the Gospel to
the world, gather money to purchase lands, and divide with the poor
brethren, are all familiar talk with us, easy to be understood, and
without mystery.
When Joseph received this revelation, it was as plain to the
understanding of the Saints, as are my instructions when telling you what
to do.
The Lord said to the people through Joseph, "You must keep the law
here, and be careful to repent of your sins." Occasionally a man's name
would be mentioned, and he might be pointed out as a pattern for the rest.
Do you repent of your sins? If you do not, you will be overcome by
the enemy. He said to the people, "Repent of your sins and keep the law,
or you will have no inheritance in this region."
Many who are here now, owned farms there, and some owned large tracts
of land. Have you possession of them now? You have not. You may be
rightful owners of those lands, but you are not the possessors. There are
many in this congregation who own the right of the soil there, that is to
say, if the government of the United States could or would give any right
to it.
The Lord said, "Repent of your sins, or you cannot stay here and
receive your inheritance; and this land will not be given to the Saints
until they are scourged and driven from city to city." This is plain, and
every person can understand it.
As there are persons named in the revelation which I have read, to
whom I wish to refer more particularly, I will again read a portion of it.
"Now as I spake concerning my servant Edward Partridge, this land is
the land of his residence, and those whom he has appointed for his
counsellors. And also the land of the residence of him whom I have
appointed to keep my store-house; wherefore let them bring their families
to this land, as they shall counsel between themselves and me: for
behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things, for he that is
compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant;
wherefore he receiveth no reward."
Here are two characters pointed out, brother Partridge and another
whose name is not mentioned here, but whose name was Gilbert, and who was
appointed keeper of the store-house.
You can understand what this plain revelation meant, and it will come
home to your comprehension. "For behold, it is not meet that I should
command in all things, for he that is compelled in all things, the same is
slothful and not a wise servant." Those men whose names are mentioned
were considered to be as holy, I may say, as any men in the world.
I am a witness, so far as this is concerned, that the persons whose
names are mentioned, and many others of the first Elders of the Church,
were looked upon almost as angels. They were looked upon by the young
members as being so filled with the Spirit and power of God, that we were
hardly worthy to converse with them. You hear the names of Bishop
Partridge, of brother W. W. Phelps, who is now sitting in this stand, of
Parley P. Pratt, of David Whitmer, of Oliver Cowdery, and the names of
many others of the first Elders who had been up to Zion, and I declare to
you that brethren in other parts of the land, those who had not seen the
persons named, felt that should they come into their presence they would
have to pull off their shoes, as the ground would be so holy upon which
they trod.
Do you know what distance and age accomplish? They produce in people
the most reverential awe that can be imagined.
When we reflect and rightly understand, we learn how easy of
comprehension the Gospel is, how plain it is in its plan, in every part
and principle fitted perfectly to the capacity of mankind, insomuch that
when it is introduced among the lovers of truth it appears very easy and
very plain, and how very ready the honest are to receive it.
But send it abroad and give it antiquity, and it is at once clothed
with mystery. This is the case with all the ancient revelations. Those
which were received and understood by the ancients are shrouded in mystery
and uncertainty to this generation, and men are employed to reveal the
meaning of the ancient Scriptures.
The people on every hand are inquiring, "What does this scripture
mean, and how shall we understand this or that passage?" Now I wish, my
brethren and sisters, for us to understand things precisely as they are,
and not as the flitting, changing imagination of the human mind may frame
them.
The Bible is just as plain and easy of comprehension as the
revelation which I have just read to you, if you understand the Spirit of
God--the Spirit of revelation, and know how the Gospel of Salvation is
adapted to the capacity of weak man.
If you could see things as they are, you would know that the whole
plan of salvation, and all the revelations ever given to man on the earth
are as plain as would be the remarks of an Elder, were he to stand here
and talk about our every day business.
I want you to understand this, that you may know how to
understandingly read the Bible and the revelations delivered to you in
your own generation, and how to honor your religion and your God.
When you read the revelations, or when you hear the will of the Lord
concerning you, for your own sakes never receive that with a doubtful
heart. This is a matter that I have frequently impressed upon the people
here; I have exhorted them from year to year upon this very point, and
have asked, why do you receive the counsel of God with doubtful hearts
when you are taught the way of life and salvation, when things are made so
plain and easy to you that you cannot misunderstand them? Why do you
admit of such unbelief in your hearts and feelings as to say--"This or
that is beneath the notice of the Almighty, and say that He does not deal
in such simple, small, and every day affairs?"
Why say, "We want to hear from the stand concerning the
mysteries--the eternal mysteries of the kingdom of God, that which we have
never heard?" I might say to such, O fools, and slow of heart to believe
all that the Prophets have spoken. Is it a mystery to you, sisters, how
to knit a stocking? You all answer, "No, not at all."
But bring an individual from a world where they never had stockings,
and it is as much of a mystery to that person, as any thing you have ever
thought of could be to you, because he would be perfectly ignorant of all
ideas pertaining to that art.
You may now be inclined to say, "O, this is too simple and
child-like, we wish to hear the mysteries of the kingdoms of the Gods who
have existed from eternity, and of all the kingdoms in which they will
dwell; we desire to have these things portrayed to our understandings."
Allow me to inform you that you are in the midst of it all now, that
you are in just as good a kingdom as you will ever attain to, from now to
all eternity, unless you make it yourselves by the grace of God, by the
will of God, by the eternal Priesthood of God, which is a code of laws
perfectly calculated to govern and control eternal matter. If you and I
do not by this means make that better kingdom which we anticipate, we
shall never enjoy it.
We can only enjoy the kingdom we have labored to make. If you say
that you want mysteries, commandments, and revelations, I reply that
scarcely a Sabbath passes over your heads, those of you who come here,
without your having the revelations of Jesus Christ poured upon you like
water on the ground.
"Why do you not write them, brother Brigham?" I will tell you one
reason why:--I expect that they will be one of these days, but I expect
that you will have them written when God and His faithful servants have
suffered enough from the ignorance, foolishness, wickedness, and
slothfulness of the people, from their slowness of heart to believe, and
from their unrighteous dealing one with another.
Then I expect that there will be just revelation enough given and
written to cut all the ungodly off from the Church, and send them to hell.
The reason it is not given now, is because of the mercy the Lord still
sees fit to extend towards them.
You recollect that last sabbath, and two weeks ago to-day, I told the
people that it would be for their good to go and perform a certain piece
of work, which was just as much revelation to you as would be teachings
upon the subject of getting your endowment. It was life, and was upon the
principles of eternal lives. I recollect telling you, when you lift your
hands to heaven like that (raising his hand) and say that you will perform
thus and so and do not, that such a course would damn you, as sure as you
are now living. Men and women ought to fulfil all their covenants.
I exhorted the brethren not to say that they would do the work,
unless they intended to go and do it, for if they did not, I said they
would be cursed.
I am almost constrained by the power that is within me to draw the
dividing line in the midst of this people, and to cut many from the
Church, but I plead for mercy. I have mercy for the people, and I ask God
to bear with the wickedness there is in their midst, which can hardly be
borne with by the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost.
I said, two weeks ago to-day, that some of you would be cursed, but
have you ever heard me curse the people? You have not, though I have to
hang, as it were, on a slender thread of faith to plead with the Almighty
to yet spare the wicked in our midst. What hinders them from observing
the law of God? Do I or does any other person hinder them? Who hinders
you from doing a good work? I am wearied with seeing the conduct of some
of this people, their thieving, lying, tattling, deceiving, running after
the Gentile spirit, after the spirits of this world, receiving delusive
spirits, and adhering to all manner of principles that are not of God.
What hinders us in living as close to our religion as do the angels?
Angels do not hinder us, God certainly does not, and we ought to say to
devils, "You shall not." But in the midst of this people there is a set
of thieves, idolaters, drunkards, whoremongers, and vile persons. It may
be asked, "Shall we not draw the dividing line soon?" Yes, some will in
due time get line enough to send them to hell. Many are pleading for
revelations; do you suppose that Saints lack revelations? They have
plenty of them, and they are stored in the archives of those who have
understanding of the principles of the Priesthood, ready to be brought
forth as the people need. I will again read a portion of the revelation,
"For he that is compelled in all things the same is a slothful and not a
wise servant, wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should
be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free
will, and bring to pass much righteousness, for the power is in them
wherein they are agents unto themselves, and inasmuch as men do good they
shall in no wise lose their reward."
There is one principle that I do wish the people would observe, that
is, do not ask God to give you knowledge, when you are confident that you
will not keep and rightly improve upon that knowledge. It is a mercy in
God that many are as ignorant as they are, for were it not so they would
not be borne with as they are. Do not ask for revelations to dictate you
in this, that, or the other, unless you are sure that you can obey them.
Do not suffer yourselves to falter in your faith, and to say that the door
of revelation is closed, for I tell you that there are now too many for
your good, unless you hearken more diligently than you have hitherto,
unless you apply more closely in your lives what is revealed and live your
religion more faithfully.
You are frequently told that the chastisements which come upon this
people are for their good. We may ask, "Is pinching want for our good?
Is the destruction of our crops for our good? Is the losing of our
property for our good?" Who will lay it to heart? Who will realize it?
There are a few who will. I can say with safety that I firmly believe
that there are five wise virgins and five foolish ones; that there are
five who are wise servants and hand-maidens to five who are foolish. But
in looking at the people in mass this may not appear, for you are
frequently told that one evil person can corrupt many. It is an old
saying, and a true one, that "a wicked king can corrupt a nation," and a
wicked father will corrupt a family, and a wicked ruler will corrupt those
he rules over. We wish to be one, but "Evil communications corrupt good
manners." Unrighteous dealings and doings appear to exert a wider
influence than righteous ones, consequently in this community when you
find one evil person in a family, or in a neighborhood, that person will
actually make it appear to a stranger that the whole family, or
neighborhoods is evil. The good and evil are mixed together, the wheat
and the tares are growing together, the wise and foolish virgins are
traveling on together. Some of the people are actually foolish, and they
think that the Lord looks upon sin with a great deal of compassion, and
are thinking, "O, if I should do this or that I will be forgiven. Yes, I
will go and tell it all to the heads of the Church and get their
forgiveness, and pass on in my wickedness." Do you wish your friends to
stay here, and all to be Saints indeed? Now some children are wicked and
their parents righteous, and again children may be Saints and their
parents wicked. There are good people who have wicked brothers and
sisters, and they say, "Let us be forgiving, let us hold on to them, if we
have compassion, perhaps they will do better and repent of their sins, and
yet be Saints." Is this not the feeling of every heart? It is, more or
less. Who is there entirely void of these compassionate feelings?
Father, save your son if possible; save your daughter, parents, if it is
possible; brothers, save your brethren, if it is possible; save your
sisters, if it is possible; save this man, or that woman, and let us have
mercy on them, we will be compassionate on them.
A great many come to me and say, "I wish to do exactly as the Lord
shall direct through you, brother Brigham." If I had the word of the Lord
I would not dare give it to them, unless I knew it was an absolute duty.
They never would obey it, because they are taught the word of the Lord
here all the time, but do they hearken to it? Those who have wisdom
within themselves, who have in possession the spirit of the Gospel, know
what they hear from this stand. They know truth from error, they are
satisfied, and never ask the Lord to give them more revelation, but to
give them grace to observe and keep what they have received.
You can perceive what kind of characters they are who need to be
commanded, they are slothful and not wise servants. Many of you may
inquire why I am urging this point today; because it is necessary, it
ought to be done. I wish those who are Saints to walk uprightly before
their God, and to do everything they can for their brethren who are not
Saints. I desire every man and woman to exercise themselves to the
utmost, for they will, in all probability, be lost unless we save them.
You came to me and want to know the will of God, what for? It would send
you to hell, as likely as not, for you will not do it, and that would lay
the foundation for your condemnation, as it is written, "Those that
receive the commandments of God and do not do them are damned." I feel to
urge these things upon the people that they may save themselves, that they
may be industrious, and go to with a ready heart and willing mind, with
all their might, to do the things that are necessary to be done.
Suppose that the Lord should give you a written revelation through
me, I am satisfied that it would not infringe upon your planting corn,
sowing wheat, and watering in the season thereof. The very first thing
would be to instruct the people to take care of their temporal lives, for
if a people do not provide to live on the earth they cannot accomplish the
work given them to do. The first thing to be written would be for people
to prepare to live on the earth, until they could overcome the wickedness
that is in the world.
This would be dictating you in your temporal affairs; I can dictate
you in those matters, and if the Lord does not move me to the point of
drawing the dividing line, though if He does I expect to be on hand, let
us go to with all our might and do every good work we can, and be
satisfied, and not be continually grumbling and complaining against the
Lord, and teazing Him for more than you know what to do with.
I could not, nor could any other man, give a revelation that would be
more plain to the comprehension of the people than the one I have read to
you this morning. There is no mystery about it, nothing mysterious or in
the dark, but every man may easily know precisely what it means; all the
people may understand it to perfection. This revelation was given to the
people in their ignorance; it was given, we may say, at the birth of the
man child, in the first days of the being of the Priesthood again upon the
earth, and yet it was so calculated and so worded, that every person could
understand it. Brother Partridge knew what to do; Gilbert, Rigdon, and
Peterson knew what to do; and in Returning to Kirtland the Elders were to
lift up their voices by the way, and to build up Churches.
One man is told to do this, and another to do that. Edward, you go
and get your family and move them up here, &c. Can you understand this?
It is one of the revelations of God, given to this people in the first
rise of the Church. I do not expect to give you any particular light upon
it by the way of illustration, for it would be like my telling you that
the sun shines, and that we are within the walls of this Temple Block,
seated under a partial shade, constructed for screening us from the rays
of the sun. You know all this, you understand it as well as I do; so did
those to whom it was given understand this revelation. Would you
understand what might be said to you, if I should command you to do this
or that. Ask some man to command you, and never ask God to do it, until
you are prepared to keep His commandments.
You are ready to say in your hearts, "We are always scolded." Who
hurts you? You will never be hurt, unless you hurt yourselves. If we
live our religion we shall prosper, and if we live in the neglect of our
duty, and continue to do so, as many do, there will be tribulation and
anguish here, and the chastening hand of the Almighty will be on this
people, more so than it has ever been. If I could stand here and talk to
you without advancing these ideas, I would endeavor to do so, and would be
very much pleased if there was no occasion for rebuke. It would delight
me to be able to preach all the time upon the glories of Zion, that Zion
prospers, that we are all in the straight and narrow way, that all feel
fully engaged in building up the kingdom of God, and that every man,
woman, and child is doing right, but such is not the case. If I could
prevail upon the people to so lay instruction to heart, that they would
repent of their sins and refrain from them, that they would forsake their
hard-heartedness and follies, I should be thankful indeed.
I need not go into particulars in explaining the feelings of this
people, for they are too well known. We see them exhibited in our
temporal management, and in our transactions one with another. Some you
see walking uprightly, and again you may see the honest suffering, and but
few ready to extend the hand of charity to relieve them, while the
dishonest who have followed this people, we will say, for the loaves and
fishes, are begging, and their children also, from morning until night and
hoarding up more than they can possibly consume. We see these different
dispositions, yet we all are known under the appellation of Saints, we are
all brethren and sisters in the Church of Christ.
There is a disposition in many of the brethren like this, "I want to
consecrate all I have to the Church, and I will not reserve anything to
myself." Very well, there are blank deeds in the Office, fill one out, if
you wish, but do as you please about it. "I really feel as though it
would be a great privilege to give everything I possess to the Church."
What have you got? "O, I have a five-acre lot." What is it worth?
"Well, I don't know; it is full of saleratus and greasewood." Such
characters are so loving and kind, and will say, "Now, brother Brigham, I
feel better than I ever felt in my life, I feel happy that I am in the
kingdom of God with all that I have; I have dedicated everything I have.
Brother Brigham, do you think I can have a house and lot?" They do not
talk so loud as I am now talking, they whisper in my ear: "Could you let
me have a yoke of oxen, or a span of horses and a wagon, or twenty bushels
of wheat," &c., &c.? If I were to hearken to one third of such calls,
these characters would drain our means to that degree, that the Church
would never have the first sixpence, from this time forth to the day of
judgment, with which to carry on this work. There is not one third enough
paid in tithing by this great people, to answer the calls of hypocrites
and ungodly persons.
Are all hypocrites? No, but if you see honest persons, you see those
who are ready to take hold and labor with their might, even though they
have but one potatoe in a day; they will suffer rather than impoverish the
Church.
I will relate a circumstance that transpired lately. I think it was
last Tuesday or Wednesday night, as I was sitting in one of my houses,
about nine o'clock in the evening, that a little boy, some nine or ten
years of age, came along. As soon as he came to the door he began a
story, but in such a manner that I could not understand him. I called him
near to me, and desired him to relate his story again. He commenced by
telling about his father's dying with the cholera on the Plains, that his
mother was sick and had several children to take care of, and wound up by
saying, that his mother had not eaten anything since the morning of the
day previous. I told my wife to give him some bread, remarking that if I
could walk as I once could I would know the true situation of that family.
Brother Wells was by and said, "I can walk," I then asked the boy where
he lived; he replied, "Over yonder." In what Ward? He did not know.
What is your name? "David Jones." What was your father's name? "Jones."
Who are your neighbors? He did not know. Brother Wells started off in an
easterly direction with him. The boy began to limp and complained of sore
feet, and ere long sat down and began to cry loudly and raise the
neighborhood. Bishop Woolley hearing the crying came up, and, after
trying to make him hush and start for his home, gave him a good spanking,
and started him homeward. He at length mentioned the name of Bishop
Perkins, and, from that Bishop, brother Wells learned that the name of the
family was Meiklejohn, and that they lived in the Seventh Ward. After
much inquiry the boy's home was found, though he was determined not to go
home, and it was soon discovered that he had a father (whose christian
name is David) and mother living, both of whom had gone to bed, and a
little sister, who waited on the opposite side of a street while the boy
who begged, was still out.
The parents of course said the boy did very wrong, and that they had
no idea of his conducting himself so, when the fact is, the boy has been
trained to lie from his childhood by his father and mother, and so has the
girl. Scores of times would not amount to the number that these very
children have been to my house, and we have given them flour, meal, and
bread which they have carried home.
On the same evening, persons were overheard talking beneath some
trees. One said, "Sister, where did you get your flour to-day?" "I got
it at brother Brigham's." "I have some money, and shall have to buy
some."
"Don't buy one pound, but go to brother Brigham and tell him a good
story, and you will get some flour. I have money, but I will not pay one
cent for my flour."
I mention these facts to illustrate the spirit that is in a portion
of this community. If you go into England, or into any of the old
countries, you will see the same class of poor, guilty, miserable wretches
begging for a living, and they carry on that business to such a degree,
and in such a manner, that the rich and those who are in comfortable
circumstances, aware of the rascality of many, often refrain from given to
any through fear of being imposed upon, and thereby the honest, innocent
poor suffer. They would also suffer here if we were equally fearful of
being imposed upon; but many who are unworthy are now aided, by those who
are ever ready to assist the destitute, lest some honest poor should
suffer; for this reason we withhold not from any.
If this loose course of begging is suffered to go on in this
community, without a check being put to it, but a few years would elapse
before the honest might be permitted to starve to death in the streets;
for those who have would say, "We do not know but that you have your
thousands at home, and we will not take the trouble to find out."
We have our arrangements for learning the condition of the people,
and I will here make a few remarks concerning the Bishops. If they
magnify their office and calling, they will know the circumstances of
every family in their Wards. But with all our experience in regard to
Bishops, especially those who have been in the Church so long, and who
know so much about the kingdom of God, they ought to know a little more
about the families residing in their Wards, and not quite so much about
the kingdom, if they cannot understand both at the same time. I very well
know that they have their own families to take care of, and that they are
allowed nothing for their services. That is partly why we have been
appointing some new Bishops. I want men to act as Bishops who are smart
enough to take care of themselves, and at the same time magnify their
calling; and if we do not find them to be honest we mean to appoint other
persons, and to continue so doing until that Quorum is filled with honest
men. I am sorry to say that we have proven a few Bishops dishonest.
Perhaps some of the Bishops here, or of those who live in other part of
the Territory, will say, "It comes very hard, brother Brigham, for you to
make such a statement as that, and not point out the dishonest person; the
people may think that you mean me." You are the very ones I mean, if your
consciences accuse you, for if you are not guilty you care not for such a
statement, as your consciences are clear and you are not accused,
therefore I mean those who say, "This is hard."
Do you wish me to explain myself? I have proof ready to show that
Bishops have taken in thousands of pounds in weight of tithing which they
have never reported to the General Tithing Office. We have documents to
show that Bishops have taken in hundreds of bushels of wheat, and only a
small portion of it has come into the General Tithing Office; they stole
it to let their friends speculate upon. If any one is doubtful about
this, will you not call on me to produce my proof before a proper
tribunal? I should take pleasure in doing so, but we pass over such
things in mercy to the people.
Will you repent of your sins, and go to and do that which you know
you ought to do, without being commanded of the Lord, and thus be
compelled to do it, or be damned? Will you live so as to know the voice
of the Good Shepherd when you hear it, or are you determined to live so as
not to know the difference between that voice and the voice of a stranger?
In this I fear for the people. I have explained and commented upon these
seemingly small items, though in reality they are of much importance.
Chemists who are familiar with analizing [sic] matter, inform you
that the globe we inhabit is composed of small particles, so small that
they cannot be seen with the unaided natural eye, and that one of these
small particles may be divided into millions of parts, each part so minute
as to be undiscernable [sic] by the aid of the finest microscopes. So the
walk of man is made up of acts performed from day to day. It is the
aggregate of the acts which I perform through life that makes up the
conduct that will be exhibited in the day of judgment, and when the books
are opened, there will be the life which I have lived for me to look upon,
and there also will be the acts of your lives for you to look upon. Do
you not know that the building up of the kingdom of God, the gathering of
Israel, is to be done by little acts? You breathe one breath at a time;
each moment is set apart to its act, and each act to its moment. It is
the moments and the little acts that make the sum of the life of man. Let
every second, minute, hour, and day we live be spent in doing that which
we know to be right.
If you do not know what to do, in order to do right, come to me at
any time and I will give you the word of the Lord on that point. But if
you wish the word of the Lord on your nonsensical, foolish notions and
traits, be pleased to keep away from me, for I know too much about such
characters for them to pass before me unobserved. Mankind are weak and
feeble, poor and needy; how destitute they are of true knowledge, how
little they have when they have any at all. We have need to increase in
knowledge and understanding, and to apply our hearts more to wisdom.
How necessary it is for us to live our religion so as to know
ourselves better, and to know how to live better in accordance with the
religion we have embraced. To know how to gather up the sons and
daughters of Abraham, and to establish the kingdom of God on the earth,
how necessary it is for you and I to live our religion, and not be
slothful and negligent in fulfilling our duty.
The Book of Mormon, of Doctrine and Covenants, the Old and New
Testaments all corroborate the fact that when you receive the Spirit that
gives you light, intelligence, peace, joy, and comfort, that it is from
God. But when you, sisters, particularly in your family affairs, are
tried and tempted, when parents and children have a spirit come upon them
that irritates them, that causes them to have bad feelings, disagreeable,
unhappy, and miserable sensations, causing them to say, "We wish it was
some way else; we wish our circumstances were different; we are not happy;
something or the other is always wrong; we wish to do just right, but we
are very unhappy;" I desire to tell you that your own conduct is the
cause of all this. "But," says one, " I have done nothing wrong, nothing
evil." No matter whether you have or not, you have given way to a spirit
of temptation. There is not that man or woman in this congregation, or on
the face of the earth, that has the privilege of the holy Gospel, and
lives strictly to it, whom all hell can make unhappy. You cannot make the
man, woman, or child unhappy, who possesses the Spirit of the living God;
unhappiness is caused by some other spirit.
The spirit of contention divides families as we see some divided. We
can hardly associate with some persons, for we have to walk in their midst
like walking upon eggs. What is the matter? You do not know the spirit
they are led by. Treat them kindly, and, perhaps, by and bye they will
come to understanding. What would they do were they of one heart and
mind? They would be like little children, would respect their superiors
and honor their God and their religion. This they would do, if they
understood things as they are. Be careful of them, and treat them kindly.
Who is there that walks up to the line, and knows the will of God without
being commanded? A great many do; but it is not all of this people who
are doing as I have been counselling you. Still I will venture to say
that there are as many wise ones as foolish. But many will have to
separate from their own family conexions, if they do not do better.
Parents and children will have to separate, and husbands and wives, ere
long. How long shall they live together? Until the Lord says, gather up
the tares and prepare them for the burning. I am not going to undertake
to separate the tares from the wheat, the sheep from the goats, but we
will try to make you goats produce fleeces of wool instead of hair, and we
will keep hammering at you with the word of God, which is quick and
powerful, until you become sheep, if possible, that we may not have five
foolish virgins in the company. Though in all this I do not expect to
even desire to thwart the plans and sayings of Jesus Christ in the least.
Let us do all the good we can, extend the hand of benevolence to all,
keep the commandments of God and live our religion, and after all there
will be five foolish virgins, and if we are not careful, we shall all be
on the list of the foolish ones.
I dedicate myself, this congregation, and the whole interest of the
kingdom of God on the earth, to our Father, to His Son Jesus Christ, and
to the Holy Ghost, that we may be saved; and I pray that this may be our
happy lot. Amen.
THE ORDER OF PROGRESSION IN KNOWLEDGE--THE WAY BY WHICH SAINTS
BECOME ONE--APTNESS OF MEN TO REMEMBER EVIL RATHER THAN GOOD--A
CHARACTERISTIC OF SAINTS IS TO REMEMBER GOOD AND FORGET
EVIL--OUR AFFECTIONS SHOULD BE PLACED ON THE KINGDOM OF GOD
ABOVE ALL OTHER THINGS.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, June 15, 1856.
As I have frequently remarked, it seems that the people need a great
deal of preaching; they require to be preached to continually to put them
in mind of their duties, and to stir them up to perform the works which
they know that they ought to do. This at first appears strange, and then
again it is not so strange. Our organization is such, we are subject to
so many spirits and influences that are in the world, that it is not
strange that our minds require stirring up to remembrance, and our
physical powers to diligence.
As Saints in the last days we have much to learn; there is an
eternity of knowledge before us; at most we receive but very little in
this stage of our progression.
The most learned men that have ever lived on the earth have only been
able to obtain a small amount of knowledge, in comparison to the vast
store of information that exists for the faithful Saints.
It cannot be understandingly exhibited by any individual, not even by
an angel, to the people any further than they are able to receive and
comprehend it; consequently the Lord has to descend to our capacities and
give us a little here and a little there, line upon line, and precept upon
precept, as the Prophet has said.
But we are so organized, and it is so ordained, that we can receive
that little, and still continue to receive a little and a little more, and
treasure up and retain in our memories that which we have received, so
that it will be ready when it is necessary to bring it forth. What we
learn to day does not prevent our learning more to-morrow, and so on.
This principle is inherent in the organization of all intelligent
beings, so that we are capable of receiving, and receiving, and receiving
from the inexhaustible fountain of knowledge and truth.
It has been frequently stated to us, and is a doctrine we understand,
that this people have got to become of one heart and one mind. They have
to know the will of God and do it, for to know the will of God is one
thing, and to bring our wills, our dispositions, into subjection to that
which we do understand to be the will of God is another.
We might say that this is the first lesson we have to learn and one
of the easiest, one that is calculated and adapted to the capacity of the
child, to learn to be submissive to our Father in heaven. Parents require
this duty of their children, when they have become intelligent enough to
understand that the parent is superior in point of government, and strict
obedience is required by that authority. That the parent is his superior
is one of the first lessons that the child learns--that he is his dictator
to measure and guide his steps, as soon as he comes to an understanding of
what is required.
If we are obedient to the will of our Father in heaven it
accomplishes one grand object, namely, our being the disciples of Christ,
for he observed to his disciples, "Except ye are one ye are not mine." "I
am in my Father and ye in me, and I in you," one eternal principle
governing and controlling the intelligence that dwells in the persons of
the Father and the Son. I have these principles within me, Jesus has them
within him, and you have them within you. I am governed and controlled by
them, my elder brother, Jesus, is governed and controlled by them. He
learned them, Jesus learned them, and we must learn them in order to
receive crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives.
The principle of eternal life that sustains all intelligent beings,
that governs and controls all things in eternity, the principle by which
matter does exist, the principle by which it is organized, by which it is
redeemed and brought into celestial glory, is the principle that is in you
and me, that is in our heavenly Father.
It is life, it is the life of Christ and of every Saint; in this
capacity they are in us and we in them. We must be possessed of the
spirit that governs and controls the angels, we must have the same spirit
within us that our Father in heaven is in possession of.
That spirit must rule you and me, it must control our actions and
dictate us in life, we must cling to it and imbibe it until it becomes a
second nature to us. We are accustomed to saying second nature, but in
reality it is the first nature that we had, though sin has perverted it.
God planted it there as the predominant principle, but our giving way to
temptation has frustrated the plan and driven it from us.
How easy it is for people to understand and do the will of God, if
they will throw off their unrighteous traditions and let truth stand for
truth, light for light, and let that which is of God be received as such.
When truth comes, receive it as from the Lord, and let everything be
simplified to us as unto children, for the Lord has ordained that we may
grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the truth, and be able to receive
more knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, and it is not possible for us
to receive it any other way, only as we apply our hearts strictly to
overcome every evil and cleave to that which is pleasing to the Lord--to
that which tends to life and salvation. This is the only channel in which
we can become of one heart and of one mind.
This has been the burden of our exhortations, prayers, and pleadings.
It was the burden of the exhortations, prayers, and pleadings of the
servants of God who lived in ancient days, as much as it is of those who
live now. No good person has ever lived on the earth--one who understood
the principles of life--but what he has desired to see the time when the
people would be governed by other principles than those of sin and
selfishness.
All the righteous have desired to see the people governed by
principles that will endure, and that will give durability to all who obey
them. Their bowels of compassion yearned continually after the sons of
men, and they labored to bring them under the control and government of
the principles of eternal life, and to cut them loose from the little,
selfish, frivolous, trifling, deathly principles that pertain to this
flesh.
What would be the result of this effort and desire, if accomplished
among us? We should be of one heart and of one mind; we should cease to
play the hyprocrite [sic]; we should cease to be slothful servants; we
should cease to do evil and do good continually.
The reflections of many are that they cannot govern and control
themselves. And should we ask some whether their memory is good, whether
they can recollect certain transactions which have transpired thus and so,
they would reply, "No, our memory is very treacherous." That is true, but
in different degrees, with all people.
We may ask one person, can you remember anything you wish to, and the
reply may be, "It is with difficulty that we remember anything." This
lack of mental force is found in a large class of mankind, but to search
into the causes of this would take us far back, for they pertain to
parents as well as to children, to the ancient as well as to the modern
inhabitants of this globe.
Another peculiarity of memory is, the stronger recollection of an
injury than a favor; for instance, take a person of the most treacherous
memory and apply a little cayenne pepper to his eyes, and he will remember
that act as long as he lives.
It is an old saying, "That we can forgive (it is man's privilege) but
we cannot forget." Can you forget an injury? No, you will always
remember it. But on the other hand, suppose that a friend should come, in
the hour of your distress, to relieve you from pain and suffering, and by
laying his hands upon you your pain is gone; or furnish you food when you
have none, and administer to your wants in everything calculated to make
you happy and comfortable in body and mind, you will forget those kind
acts many times quicker than the act of throwing a little cayenne pepper
in your eyes.
Think of that and ask yourselves the cause; reason as to why it is
that you can remember an injury better than a kindness; why you can retain
hatred longer than love. Is it through your fallen nature? Is it because
you were begotten and born in sin? Or is it not rather because the power
of the tempter has control over you, and because the world is full of evil
principles, and you have adhered to them? Yes, this is the cause, and you
must acknowledge it. The whole world is contaminated with a spirit to
remember evil and forget the good.
Mankind are organized of element designed to endure to all eternity;
it never had a beginning and never can have an end. There never was a
time when this matter, of which you and I are composed, was not in
existence, and there never can be a time when it will pass out of
existence; it cannot be annihilated.
It is brought together, organized, and capacitated to receive
knowledge and intelligence, to be enthroned in glory, to be made angels,
Gods--beings who will hold control over the elements, and have power by
their word to command the creation and redemption of worlds, or to
extinguish suns by their breath, and disorganize worlds, hurling them back
into their chaotic state. This is what you and I are created for.
But in view of all this, what can we discover in ourselves? As an
instance, A has a favorite dog, which B discovers doing mischief on his
grounds, and kills, whereupon A, who was fond of his dog for serving him
so well, and guarding his house and children so long and faithfully,
becomes highly enraged, and says, "I tell you I cannot stand it, I am so
angry, that I feel as though I should fly all to pieces, and I have almost
a mind to take my rifle and shoot you." What, for a dog?
Let a man or woman come forward that can say they have not had such
feelings, to a certain degree. Yes, you have similar feelings in
consequence of some one's abusing your dog, but when you enter into the
holy city, (should you be so happy as to get there) you will learn that
the dogs will all be on the outside of the walls with the murderers,
adulterers, fornicators, liars, and those who take the name of God in
vain. "For your conduct towards my dog, I am almost ready to kill you,
neighbor."
Do you here such language used? Yes, right in our midst. Kill
almost any person's favorite animal, and he is ready to draw the rifle to
his eye, in a moment, to shed the blood of his neighbor. This is the
passion of the animal organization that the devil has power over. When
such feelings assail you, stop and reflect, and let the spirit within you
reason, and it would say, "Shame on you, Brigham, John, Mary, or Jane?"
Grant that an individual has done wrong, should we be so provoked about
it?
We are organized for the express purpose of controlling the elements,
of organizing and disorganizing, of ruling over kingdoms, principalities,
and powers, and yet our affections are often too highly placed upon
paltry, perishable objects. We love houses, gold, silver, and various
kinds of property, and all who unduly prize any object there is beneath
the celestial world are idolators.
Some say, "We are placed here, the devils were here, the world is
full of wickedness, and we are subjected to all this without any agency on
our part," but this assertion does not prove such to be the case. Will
you subject your children to wickedness when it is in your power to
deliver them from it? We are measurably subjected to it because of the
sin that was in our parents, but have we now the knowledge to deliver our
children from this power? We have. Then let us begin and do it, and cast
off your unrighteous traditions, as I have often taught and counselled
you. Let every man and woman bring up their children according to the law
of heaven. Teach your children from their youth, never to set their
hearts immoderately upon an object of this world.
Should you train yourselves? Yes, you should. Can you remember to
do good instead of evil? Do you watch the operations of the spirits upon
the people, upon their affections, upon their hearts? Can you not hear
some of this congregation, as they leave the meeting, and afterwards,
begin to find fault and complain on this wise? "Well, I do not like this,
and I do not like that, and I think I shall go back to the States. I wish
I was back in England. I will not pay my money for flour, but I will beg
it, and send my children to beg it, and spend my money to get away from
here."
Have I done you any harm since you have been here? Did my brothers
who proclaimed the Gospel to you, do you anything but good? "No, O, no."
If they have done the least thing to injure you, why will you not tell of
it before you leave? But no, you will not, and as soon as you go away
your testimony will be, "Brothers Brigham, and Heber, and Jedediah, and
the Twelve, and all the brethren at Great Salt Lake are the worst people
we ever saw." Can you tell of one thing wherein they have wronged you?
They may have fed you, you may have lived here on their bounty and
kindness, but as soon as you go away, you partake of the spirit of the
world, which I am trying to contrast with the spirit of the Gospel.
As soon as you are overcome by the spirit of the world, you forget
every good deed and kindness that has been extended to you, and you only
remember the transpiring and infliction of what you deemed to be evil.
You imagine a thousand things to be evil that would have resulted in good,
had you done right. Can you believe that? "O, yes." Those who have
apostatized and left, cannot recollect a kindness that I have done them,
but I can say to the praise of a few Gentiles, who have passed through
here, they have recollected the kindnesses done to them by this people.
Almost universally, after having received the greatest kindnesses they
ever received, apostates and some Gentiles after they leave these valleys,
vividly remember and proclaim, from Dan to Beersheba, every fancied
injury.
Brother Tobin lately arrived from the army in Oregon; he there became
acquainted with a part of Colonel Steptoe's command. Yesterday, as we
were walking about, I told him that the Indians who were tried for the
murder of Captain Gunnison were confined within the walls of the
Penitentiary. He said that he thought they had made their escape; that he
had been informed that the lock was broken, the gate opened, and the
Indians sent off.
I informed him that it was true that the Indian prisoners escaped,
but that I soon recovered them, placed them in charge of the Warden, and
wrote to Colonel Steptoe, who was at Bear river en route for California,
acquainting him with the circumstances. The Colonel replied, and thanked
me in his note. I asked brother Tobin whether the Colonel did not tell
him that those Indians were recovered. He replied, "No, but it has
appeared in nearly all, if not all, the western papers, that the "Mormons"
let the Indians out of prison." They could publish that the Indians
escaped, but they would not proclaim that the "Mormons" speedily recovered
them, and that they are still safely lodged in prison.
Those who love righteousness and possess the Spirit of God, those who
delight to do good can remember good. They can remember every good
principle and every good act; and when they read the Bible, the sayings of
the Prophets and Apostles will be as near their hearts as lies are to the
hearts of the wicked. By this you may know whether you are Saints or not.
Can you remember good? If you forget good and remember evil, you may lay
it down as a positive fact that you are on the highway to destruction. If
you love the truth you can remember it.
One may here inquire, "Can I strengthen my memory and bring it into
lively exercise?" Yes, by applying your mind to the point you wish to
improve upon, and you can learn and remember righteous deeds if you are
full of integrity.
The Gospel of salvation has been revealed unto us expressly to teach
our hearts understanding, and when I learn the principles of charity or
righteousness I will adhere to them, and say to selfishness, you must not
have that which you want, and when it urges that I have no more flour than
I shall need until harvest, and that I must not give any away, not even a
pound, I say, get out of my door. And when it argues that a brother will
not be profited by our endeavors to benefit him, that you had better keep
your money to yourselves and not let him have this ox, that farm or cow,
&c., and strives to persuade you not to feed such a poor person, not to do
anything for the P. E. F. Company, that you have not any more than you
need, just do as the man did in Vermont, for by the report we would judge
him to be a pretty good man. He had a farm, raised a large quantity of
grain, and usually had some to spare. It so happened one season that a
poor neighbor thrashed out his rye, and was to receive his pay in grain.
The poor man came; the farmer told him to leave his bags and he would
measure up the amount and have it ready when again called for. He was
alone when measuring the grain, and as he put into the measure, something
whispered to him, "Pour it in lightly," but instead of doing this, he gave
the measure a kick. When he put on the strike something said to him,
"When you take that off, take a little out the poor man will know nothing
about it." At last the farmer said, "Mr. Devil, walk out of my barn, or I
will heap every half bushel I measure for the poor man."
When you are tempted to do wrong, do not stop one moment to argue,
but tell Mr. Devil to walk out of your barn, or you will heap up every
half bushel; you can do that I know. A drunkard can walk by a tavern,
though I have heard it said that some men cannot go by, or if they do
manage to get by, that they say, "Now I know I am the master, and I will
go back and treat resolution."
I am aware that some will argue that they cannot do good without evil
being present with them; that has nothing to do with the case. Though it
may be present with them, as it was with Paul, there is no necessity for
any man's giving way to that evil. If we should do good, do it, and tell
the evil to stand out of the way. You are privileged to be masters of
yourselves; you can strengthen your memories, and by a close application
you can train yourselves to remember the good instead of the evil. If
anybody has injured you, forget it. Can you do so? I know you can.
Forget the imperfections of your brethren; for often the injuries
which you imagine to have been done, arise through the weakness of the
flesh, and without the individual's being aware that he has done you an
injury, and when no evil was designed. Judge not according to the outward
appearance, but according to the intentions of the heart. If they
designed to injure you, they sinned; if they have injured you without
design, you are bound to forgive. Remember good principles, and when you
hear the truth, if you have a love for it, you will remember it.
It is frequently said by mothers, and is a universal characteristic
of the rising generation, "How easy it is for children to learn mischief;
I do not like to have my children associated with such and such children,
or go to this or that school." Do they learn any good? Perhaps they do a
little, and a great deal of evil. It is natural for children to learn
that which they should not, and to do that which they should not, but no
more so than it is for you and me. There are many now before me who
desire something put in their possession which would be injurious to them,
therefore do not blame the children so much for desiring to handle that
which is not meet for them to handle, and to possess that which they
cannot take care of.
What shall we do? We will cut off every avenue of evil, as fast and
as far as may lay in our power. You can stop those evil communications
that corrupt good manners in yourselves first, and then keep your children
as strictly from evil as possible, and not many generations will pass away
ere the heavens will acknowledge that there is a reformation among the
Latter-day Saints. How many generations we do not know, but I sometimes
think that the Lamanites will become a white and delightsome people about
as quick. It belongs to us to commence the work of reformation, and in
the first place to set the example of good works before our children, and
when they grow up they will say, these are the traditions of my fathers.
They will thus improve a little, and the next generation will improve a
little more, until the traditions of the children are in accordance with
the principles of the eternal Priesthood, which will produce life and
salvation.
I will speak a little more upon placing your affections on beings who
are not worthy of them. Take a Prophet, and Apostle, a man of God, one
who is just as good in his calling and capacity as Jesus Christ was in
his, a man who has adorned the doctrine of his profession, until he is
sealed up unto eternal lives by the power of the Priesthood, one who is
sure of a glorious resurrection, and let him desire to have a wife. Now
suppose that he gains the affection of a lovely woman and marries her, how
much shall that righteous man love that woman? Shall he say, "I love this
woman to such a degree that I will go to hell rather than not have her, I
will do even this rather than lose my wife?" No, for you ought to love a
woman only so far as she adorns the doctrine you profess; so far as she
adorns that doctrine, just so far let your love extend to her. When will
she be worthy of the full extent of your affection? When she has lived
long enough to secure to herself a glorious resurrection and an eternal
exaltation as your companion, and never until then.
Elders, never love your wives one hair's breadth further than they
adorn the Gospel, never love them so but that you can leave them at a
moment's warning without shedding a tear. Should you love a child any
more than this? No. Here are Apostles and Prophets who are destined to
be exalted with the Gods, to become rulers in the kingdoms of our Father,
to become equal with the Father and the Son, and will you let your
affections be unduly placed on anything this side that kingdom and glory?
If you do, you disgrace your calling and Priesthood. The very moment that
persons in this Church suffer their affections to be immoderately placed
upon an object this side the celestial kingdom, they disgrace their
profession and calling. When you love your wives and children, are fond
of your horses, your carriages, your fine houses, your goods and chattels,
or anything of an earthly nature, before your affections become too
strong, wait until you and your family are sealed up unto eternal lives,
and you know they are yours from that time henceforth and for ever.
I will now ask the sisters, do you believe that you are worthy of any
greater love than you bestow upon your children? Do you believe that you
should be beloved by your husbands and parents any further than you
acknowledge and practice the principle of eternal lives? Every person who
understands this principle would answer in a moment, "Let no being's
affections be placed upon me any further than mine are on eternal
principles--principles that are calculated to endure and exalt me, and
bring me up to be an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ."
This is what every person who has a correct understanding would say.
Owing to the weaknesses of human nature you often see a mother mourn
upon the death of her child, the tears of bitterness are found upon her
cheeks, he pillow is wet with the dews of sorrow, anguish, and mourning
for her child, and she exclaims, "O that my infant were restored to me,"
and weeps day and night. To me such conduct is unwise, for until that
child returned to its Father, was it worthy of your fullest love? No, for
it was imperfect, but now it is secure in the bosom of the Father, to
dwell there to all eternity; now it is in a condition where it is worthy
of your perfect love, and your anxiety and effort should be that you may
enter at the same gate to immortality.
When the wife secures to herself a glorious resurrection, she is
worthy of the full measure of the love of the faithful husband, but never
before. And when a man has passed through the vail, and secured to
himself an eternal exaltation, he is then worthy of the love of his wife
and children, and not until then, unless he has received the promise of
and is sealed up unto eternal lives. Then he may be an object fully
worthy of their affections and love on the earth, and not before.
I will now briefly call your minds to the principle of being one. Do
you not comprehend that you ought to have your affections concentrated in
the kingdom of God on the earth? As I observed here last Sabbath, I do
not reflect much whether I have friends or foes, or care one groat about
it. I do not care whether you take my counsel or not, provided you take
the counsel of the Almighty. I do not care what the people do, if they
will only serve God and build up this kingdom. I do not care what become
of the things of this world, of the gold, of the silver, of the houses and
of the lands, so we have power to gather the house of Israel, redeem Zion,
and establish the kingdom of God on the earth. I would not give a cent
for all the rest. True, these things which the Lord bestows upon us are
for our comfort, for our happiness and convenience, but everything must be
devoted to the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth. I may say
that this Gospel is to spread to the nations of the earth, Israel is to be
gathered, Zion redeemed, and the land of Joseph, which is the land of
Zion, is to be in the possession of the Saints, if the Lord Almighty lets
me live; and if I go behind the vail somebody else must see to it. My
brethren must bear it off shoulder to shoulder. We must be of one heart
and one mind and roll forth this kingdom; and when we get the first
Presidency, the Twelve, and so on, shoulder to shoulder to forward the
kingdom, wives and children, what are you going to do? Will you pull
another way? No, but let your affections, faith, and all your works be
with your husbands, and be obedient to them as unto the Lord. And
husbands, serve the Lord with all your hearts, and then we shall be a
blessed people, and be of one heart and mind, and the Lord will withhold
no good thing from us, but we shall put down the power of Satan, walk
triumphantly through the world, preach the Gospel and gather the Saints.
I say then, let us be faithful, and may God bless you. Amen.
THE GIFTS OF PROPHECY AND TONGUES.--THE FORMER CIRCUMSTANCES
AND PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SAINTS CONTRASTED.--TRIALS AND
TEMPTATIONS NECESSARY TO EXALTATION.--THE CONDITION OF
DISEMBODIED SPIRITS.--REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD.
A Discourse, by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, June 22, 1856.
I am happy for the privilege of rising again before you to converse
upon those things that pertain to our peace, that most deeply interest us
in our reflections and in our lives, it is a matter of constant joy and
comfort to me.
It gives me great pleasure to look upon the congregations of the
Saints, while I reflect that some of us have been faithful in this Church
for many years, have preached to the Saints and to sinners, have called
upon people to repent while the finger of scorn has been pointed at us and
all manner of evil has been spoken against us falsely. And many times the
Elders, while laboring faithfully in preaching to the people, would not
find where to lay their heads, no doors open to receive them, and no one
to feed them, yet they have traveled and searched until they have found a
great many that ought to be honest in heart--a great many who have
embraced the Gospel.
It has been a hard labor upon many of the Elders of this Church to
accomplish what has been done, to preach this Gospel to so many people in
so many different nations and kingdoms.
If the miles our missionaries have traveled were counted they would
amount to a great sum, and if you could know how many days the have been
without eating, while calling upon the people to repent, you would find
them to be a great number.
If the troubles of this people from the commencement of this work,
from the early history of the Prophet, and the persecutions of the Saints,
could be presented before this congregation you would be astonished, you
would marvel at them. You would not believe that a people could endure so
much as this people have endured, you would think it an impossibility for
men and women to endure and pass through what a great many in this Church
have. Truly it is a miracle that we are here.
Taking these things into consideration, and viewing our present
circumstances and the privileges we enjoy, there is not a heart that fully
realizes what we have passed through and the blessings we now enjoy,
without praising God continually and feeling to exclaim, "O praise the
name of our God."
True, many think and feel that we have hard times here, that it is a
hard country to live in. We have long cold winters, and we have a great
many difficulties to encounter--the Indian wars, the cricket wars, the
grasshopper wars, and the drouths.
What we have suffered during the two years past comes before us, and
now the prospect is gloomy pertaining to sustenance for man.
How many are there who feel and say like this? "Were it not for
'Mormonism' I should know at once what to do; I know the course I would
pursue." What would you do, brother? "I would pick up my duds and leave;
I would sell what I have here, if I could, and if I could not I would
leave it." These are the feelings of some.
I will tell you what my feelings are, they are, praise God for hard
times, for I feel that it is one of the greatest privileges to be in a
country that is not desirable, where the wicked will pass by.
Now, do we all realize this? No, we do not; though I have no doubt
but that some do. I will tell you what will make you realize it; to
suffer the loss of all things here by the enemy's coming along and driving
you out of your houses, from your farms and fields, and taking your
horses, cattle, farming implements, and what little substance you have,
and banishing you from this place and sending you off five or six hundred
miles, bereft of all you possessed, without suitable clothing and
provisions for the journey.
Then you go to work, and toil and labor with all your might, for a
few years, to get another home, and then let another set come and drive
you out of that place, taking your cattle, your farms, and all you have,
telling you that they want your possessions, and by the time they had thus
driven you four or five times, as they have many of us, and made you leave
every thing you have, and threatened you with death, and watched for you
by day and by night, to get a chance to kill you, and they suffered to go
at large with impunity, and would kill you in open daylight if they dare,
after having passed through fifteen or sixteen years of this kind of
persecution, you would thank God for hard times, for a country where mobs
do not wish to live.
Many of the people in these valleys have no experience in these
things, and I would be very glad to have such persons escape those trials,
if they could receive the same glory and exaltation that they would if
they had passed through them.
I look upon the people, and as I frequently say, I have compassion
upon them, for all have not experience. It was told you this morning that
you could not be made perfect Saints in one day, that is impossible. You
might as well undertake to learn a child every branch of English
literature during its first week's attendance at school, this cannot be
done.
We are not capacitated to receive in one day, nor in one year, the
knowledge and experience calculated to make us perfect Saints, but we
learn from time to time, from day to day, consequently we are to have
compassion one upon another, to look upon each other as we would wish
others to look upon us, and to remember that we are frail mortal beings,
and that we can be changed for the better only by the Gospel of salvation.
As it was observed this morning, we ought to be ourselves and not
anybody else. We do not wish to be anybody else, neither do we wish to be
anybody but Saints. We wish the Gospel to take effect upon each one of
us; and we can change in our feelings, in our dispositions and natures, to
the extent that was observed by brother Kimball in the comparison which he
made.
A man, or a woman, desiring to know the will of God, and having an
opportunity to know it, will apply their hearts to this wisdom until it
becomes easy and familiar to them, and they will love to do good instead
of evil. They will love to promote every good principle, and will soon
abhor everything that tends to evil; they will gain light and knowledge to
discern between evil and good.
The person that applies his heart to wisdom, and seeks diligently for
understanding, will grow to be mighty in Israel.
Call to mind when you first embraced the Gospel, how much did you
then know compared with what you now know? Could you detect error then as
now? Could you then understand the operations of the different spirits as
you can now understand them? I know what your reply would be to these
interrogations.
In the first rise of the Church, when the gifts of the Gospel were
bestowed on an individual, or upon individuals, the people could not
understand but that the giver of the gift gave also the exercise of it;
how much labor the Elders that understood this matter have had to make it
plain to the understandings of the people.
Take, for instance, the gift of tongues; years ago in this Church you
could find men of age, and seemingly of experience, who would preach and
raise up Branches, and when quite young boys or girls would get up and
speak in tongues, and others interpret, and perhaps that interpretation
instructing the Elders who brought them into the Church, they would turn
round and say, "I know my duty, this is the word of the Lord to me and I
must do as these boys or girls have spoken in tongues."
You ask one of the Elders if they understand things so now, and they
will say, "No, the gifts are from the Lord, and we are agents to use them
as we please."
If a man is called to be a Prophet, and the gift of prophecy is
poured upon him, though he afterwards actually defies the power of God and
turns away from the holy commandments, that man will continue in his gift
and will prophecy lies.
He will make false prophecies, yet he will do it by the spirit of
prophecy; he will feel that he is a prophet and can prophecy, but he does
it by another spirit and power than that which was given him of the Lord.
He uses the gift as much as you and I use ours.
The gift of seeing with the natural eyes is just as much a gift as
the gift of tongues. The Lord gave that gift and we can do as we please
with regard to seeing; we can use the sight of the eye to the glory of
God, or to our own destruction.
The gift of taste is the gift of God, we can use that to feed and
pamper the lusts of the flesh, or we can use it to the glory of God.
The gift of communicating one with another is the gift of God, just
as much so as the gift of prophecy, of discerning spirits, of tongues, of
healing, or any other gift, though sight, taste, and speech, are so
generally bestowed that they are not considered in the same miraculous
light as are those gifts mentioned in the Gospel.
We can use these gifts, and every other gift God has given us, to the
praise and glory of God, to serve Him, or we can use them to dishonor Him
and His cause; We can use the gift of speech to blaspheme His name. That
is true, and I have as good a right as brother Kimball, to say that what I
am talking about is true.
He said that all his talk in the forenoon was true, and I have as
good a right to say that my talk is true, as he has to say that his is
true.
These principles are correct in regard to the gifts which we receive
for the express purpose of using them, in order that we may endure and be
exalted, and that the organization we have received shall not come to an
end, but endure to all eternity.
By a close application of the gifts bestowed upon us, we can secure
to ourselves the resurrection of these bodies that we now possess, that
our spirits inhabit, and when they are resurrected they will be made pure
and holy; then they will endure to all eternity.
But we cannot receive all at once, we cannot understand all at once;
we have to receive a little here and a little there. If we receive a
little, let us improve upon that little; and if we receive much, let us
improve upon it.
If we get a line to-day, improve upon it; if we get another
to-morrow, improve upon it; and every line, and precept, and gift that we
receive, we are to labor upon, so as to become perfect before the Lord.
This is the way that we are to change ourselves, and change one
another, pertaining to the principles of righteousness.
As brother Joseph observed this morning, "Joseph must be Joseph;
Brigham must be Brigham; Heber must be Heber; Amasa must be Amasa; Orson
must be Orson; and Parley must be Parley;" we must be ourselves.
What should we be, and what are we? I will take the liberty of
saying a few words upon this. We were created upright, pure, and holy, in
the image of our father and our mother, in the image of our God.
Wherein do we differ? In the talents that are given us, and in our
callings. We are made of the same materials; our spirits were begotten by
the same parents; in the begetting of the flesh we are of the same first
parents, and all the kindreds of the earth are made of one flesh; but we
are different in regard to our callings.
In the first place, we may vary with regard to our organizations
pertaining to the flesh; brother Kimball explained this morning why and
how we vary.
Let a man be devoted to his God and to his religion, and his wives
with him, and he is very apt to have children that will grow up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. If the whole of the father and mother
in all their acts is devoted to the building up of the kingdom of God on
the earth, if they have no desire but to do right, if righteousness reigns
predominant, then the spirit that is within them controls, to a certain
extent, the flesh in their posterity.
Yet every son and daughter have got to go through the ordeal that you
and I have to pass through; they must be tried, tempted and buffeted, in
order to act upon their agency before God and prove themselves worthy of
an exaltation.
Though our children are begotten in righteousness, brought forth in
holiness, they must be tried and tempted, for they are agents before our
Father and God, the same as you and I.
They must bring this agency into action; the passions and appetites
must be governed and controlled; the eye, the speech, the tastes, the
desires, all must be controlled.
If the people would thus control themselves in their lives, it would
make a great alteration in the generations yet to come.
But we cannot clear ourselves from the power of satan; we must know
what it is to be tried and tempted, for no man or woman can be exalted
upon any other principle, as was beautifully exhibited in the life of the
Savior.
According to the philosophy of our religion we understand that if he
had not descended below all things, he could not have ascended above all
things.
As he was appointed to ascend above all things, his father and his
God so brought it about by the handiwork of His providence, that he was
actually accounted, in his birth and in his life, below all things.
Did he descend below all things? His parents had not a house nor
even a tent for him to be born in, but were obliged to go to a stable,
doubtless because they were denied the privilege of a house.
The Son of Man could not be born in a house, and the poor mother in
her distress crawled into a manger, among the litter that had been left by
the cattle.
Others may have been born in as low a state as this, but it is hard
to find anybody, among the civilized portions of mankind, that gets any
lower.
But in the opinion of the people they were not considered worthy of
anything better, and by some means it happened so, though they did not
know why, neither did the people.
The history of Joseph and Mary is given to us by their best friends,
and precisely as we will give the history of the Prophet Joseph. We know
him to have been a good man, we know that he performed his mission, we
know that he was an honorable man and dealt justly, we know his true
character.
But let his enemies give his character, and they will make him out
one of the basest men that ever lived. Let the enemies of Joseph and Mary
give their characters to us, and you would be strongly tempted to believe
as the Jews believe.
Let the enemies of Jesus give his character to us, and, in the
absence of the testimony of his friends, I do not know but that the
present Christian world would all be Jews, so far as their belief that
Jesus Christ was an impostor and one of the most degraded men that ever
lived.
Jesus descended very low in his parentage and birth; but the question
may be asked, did he condescend to be reduced in his understanding?
By the same reasoning I would believe that he did. I would believe
that he was one of the weakest children that was ever born, one of the
most helpless at his birth; so helpless that it might have been supposed
that he would never grow up to manhood.
What is his history? Read for yourselves the account given by his
friends. It is said that Josephus has given a pretty just account of
Joseph and Mary, of the Apostles, &c., but he has only given just about as
good an account of Jesus and his parents as some person in London lately
has about the "Mormons" and Joseph Smith their Prophet, though he gives a
pretty fair account.
Take a man in Paris or in London and let him write a history of
Joseph Smith and the Latter Day Saints thirty years after Joseph figured
on the earth, for the history of Christ by Josephus was written several
years, after he was crucified, and he would come as nigh to the truth,
perhaps, as Josephus did in the history he has given of Jesus and his
Apostles. Josephus was a pretty fair man, but he knew but little about
them.
What account would Jesus have given of himself, could he have
transmitted his own statements? Such as every good man would, for he
would have told the truth; but now we have to take his history from his
friends and from his foes.
What history do we get from the Jews? I will venture to say that no
man living on the face of the earth, capable of using language to portray
the character of any individual that lives on the earth, could paint a
worse character than they have given to Jesus Christ.
Compare that with all that has been said against Joseph Smith, and
you will find that the wisdom of this generation will have to succumb to
that of the Jews, for they portrayed the meanest character in the history
they have given of Jesus; but let that pass.
You can discern that we have to control ourselves, that by the Gospel
we can actually do so and reform. Each man and woman, by the spirit of
truth, can conform to that principle to improve until we will know and
understand the things of God, so as to save ourselves by the commandments
and will of God.
The Gospel is simple, it is plain. The mystery of godliness, or of
the Gospel, is actually couched in our own ignorance; that is the cause of
the mystery that we suppose to be in the revelations given to us; it is in
our own misunderstanding--in our ignorance.
There is no mystery throughout the whole plan of salvation, only to
those who do not understand.
Brother Joseph, in the forenoon, touched upon one principle that I
wish to talk about, that is, our future state--futurity.
From time to time our fathers and our mothers leave us, their bodies
are consigned to the silent tomb; our Prophets are taken from us; our
companions are taken away; our brothers and sisters leave this world.
The organization that pertains to this life decays, it becomes
lifeless, we lay it down. Disease fastens upon our children, and they are
gone.
I said a few words upon the principle of affection last Sabbath, now
I wish to say a few words with regard to our lives hereafter; I will
extend these remarks further than our existence here in the flesh.
We understand, for it has long been told us, that we had an existence
before we came into the world. Our spirits came here pure to take these
tabernacles; they came to occupy them as habitations, with the
understanding that all that had passed previously to our coming here
should be taken away from us, that we should not know anything about it.
We come here to live a few days, and then we are gone again. How
long the starry heavens have been in existence we cannot say; how long
they will continue to be we cannot say. How long there will be air, water,
earth; how long the elements will endure, in their present combinations,
it is not for us to say. Our religion teaches us that there never was a
time when they were not, and there never will be a time when they will
cease to be; they are here, and will be here for ever.
I will give you a figure that brother Hyde had in a dream. He had
been thinking a great deal about time and eternity; he wished to know the
difference, but how to understand it he did not know. He asked the Lord
to show him, and after he had prayed about it the Lord gave him a dream,
at least I presume He did, or permitted it so to be, at any rate he had a
dream; his mind was opened so that he could understand time and eternity.
He said that he thought he saw a stream issuing forth from a misty cloud
which spread upon his right and upon his left, and that the stream ran
past him and entered the cloud again. He was told that the stream was
time, that it had no place where it commenced to run, neither was there
any end to its running; and that the time which he was thinking about and
talking about, what he could see between the two clouds, was a portion of
or one with that which he could not perceive.
So it is with you and I; here is time, where is eternity? It is
here, just as much as anywhere in all the expanse of space; a measured
space of time is only a part of eternity.
We have a short period of duration allotted to us, and we call it
time. We exist here, we have life within us let that life be taken away
and the lungs will cease to heave, and the body will become lifeless. Is
that life extinct? No, it continues to exist as much as it did when the
lungs would heave, when the mortal body was invigorated with air, food and
the element in which it lived, it has only left the body. The life, the
animating principles are still in existence, as much so as they were
yesterday when the body was in good health. Here the inquiry will
naturally arise, when our spirits leave our bodies where do they go to?
I will tell you. Will I locate them? Yes, if you wish me to. They
do not pass out of the organization of this earth on which we live. You
read in the Bible that when the spirit leaves the body it goes to God who
gave it. Now tell me where God is not, if you please; you cannot. How
far would you have to go in order to go to God, if your spirits were
unclothed? Would you have to go out of this bowery to find God, if you
were in the spirit? If God is not here, we had better reserve this place
to gather the wicked into, for they will desire to be where God is not.
The Lord Almighty is here by His Spirit, by His influence, by His
presence. I am not in the north end of this bowery, my body is in the
south end of it, but my influence and my voice extend to all parts of it;
in like manner is the Lord here.
It reads that the spirit goes to God who gave it. Let me render this
Scripture a little plainer; when the spirits leave their bodies they are
in the presence of our Father and God, they are prepared then to see, hear
and understand spiritual things. But where is the spirit world? It is
incorporated within this celestial system. Can you see it with your
natural eyes? No. Can you see spirits in this room? No. Suppose the
Lord should touch your eyes that you might see, could you then see the
spirits? Yes, as plainly as you now see bodies, as did the servant of
Elijah. If the Lord would permit it, and it was His will that it should
be done, you could see the spirits that have departed from this world, as
plainly as you now see bodies with your natural eyes; as plainly as
brothers Kimball and Hyde saw those wicked disembodied spirits in Preston,
England. They saw devils there, as we see one another; they could hear
them speak, and knew what they said. Could they hear them with the natural
ear? No. Did they see those wicked spirits with their natural eyes? No.
They could not see them the next morning, when they were not in the
spirit; neither could they see them the day before, nor at any other time;
their spiritual eyes were touched by the power of the Almighty.
They said they looked through their natural eyes, and I suppose they
did. Brother Kimball saw them, but I know not whether his natural eyes
were open at the time or not; brother Kimball said that he lay upon the
floor part of the time, and I presume his eyes were shut, but he saw them
as also did brother Hyde, and they heard them speak.
We may enquire where the spirits dwell, that the devil has power
over? They dwell anywhere, in Preston, as well as in other places in
England. Do they dwell anywhere else? Yes, on this continent; it is full
of them. If you could see, and would walk over many parts of North
America, you would see millions on millions of the spirits of those who
have been slain upon this continent. Would you see the spirits of those
who were as good in the flesh as they knew how to be? Yes. Would you see
the spirits of the wicked? Yes. Could you see the spirits of devils?
Yes, and that is all there is of them. They have been deprived of bodies,
and that constitutes their curse, that is to say, speaking after the
manner of men, you shall be wanderers on the earth, you have got to live
out of doors all the time you live.
That is the situation of the spirits that were sent to the earth,
when the revolt took place in heaven, when Lucifer, the Son of the
Morning, was cast out. Where did he go? He came here, and one-third part
of the spirits in heaven came with him. Do you isuppose [sic] that one
third part of all the beings that existed in eternity came with him? No,
but one third part of the spirits that were begotten and organized and
brought forth to become tenants of fleshly bodies to dwell upon this
earth. They forsook Jesus Christ, the rightful heir, and joined with
Lucifer, the Son of the Morning, and came to this earth; they got here
first. As soon as Mother Eve made her appearance in the garden of Eden,
the devil was on hand.
You cannot give any person their exaltation, unless they know what
evil is, what sin, sorrow, and misery are, for no person could comprehend,
appreciate, and enjoy an exaltation upon any other principle. The devil
with one third part of the spirits of our Father's Kingdom got here before
us, and we tarried there with our friends, until the time came for us to
come to the earth and take tabernacles; but those spirits that revolted
were forbidden ever to have tabernacles of their own. You can now
comprehend how it is that they are always trying to get possession of the
bodies of human beings; we read of a man's being possessed of a legion,
and Mary Magdalene had seven.
You may now see people with legions of evil spirits in and around
them; there are men who walk our streets that have more than a hundred
devils in them and round about them, prompting them to all manner of evil,
and some too that profess to be Latter Day Saints, and if you were to take
the devils out of them and from about them, you would leave them dead
corpses; for I believe there would be nothing left of them.
I want you to understand these things; and if you should say or think
that I know nothing about them, be pleased to find out and inform me. You
can see the acts of these evil spirits in every place, the whole country
is full of them, the whole earth is alive with them, and they are
continually trying to get into the tabernacles of the human family, and
are always on hand to prompt us to depart from the strict line of our
duty.
You know that we sometimes need a prompter; if any one of you was
called by the government of the United States to go to Germany, Italy, or
any foreign nation, as an Ambassador, if you did not understand the
language somebody would have to interpret for you. Well, these evil
spirits are ready to prompt you. Do they prompt us? Yes, and I could put
my hands on an dozen of them while I have been on this stand; they are
here on the stand. Could we do without the devils? No, we could not get
along without them. They are here, and they suggest this, that, and the
other.
When you lay down this tabernacle, where are you going? Into the
spiritual world. Are you going into Abraham's bosom. No, not any where
nigh there, but into the spirit world. Where is the spirit world? It is
right here. Do the good and evil spirits go together? Yes, they do. Do
they both inhabit one kingdom? Yes, they do. Do they go to the sun? No.
Do they go beyond the boundaries of this organized earth? No, they do
not. They are brought forth upon this earth, for the express purpose of
inhabiting it to all eternity. Where else are you going? No where else,
only as you may be permitted.
When the spirits of mankind leave their bodies, no matter whether the
individual was a Prophet or the meanest person that you could find, where
do they go? To the spirit world. Where is it? I am telling you. The
spirit of Joseph, I do not know that it is just now in this bowery, but I
will assure you that it is close to the Latter-day Saints, is active in
preaching to the spirits in prison and preparing the way to redeem the
nations of the earth, those who lived in darkness previous to the
introduction of the Gospel by himself in these days.
He has just as much labor on hand as I have; he has just as much to
do. Father Smith and Carlos and brother Partridge, yes, and every other
good Saint, are just as busy in the spirit world as you and I are here.
They can see us, but we cannot see them unless our eyes were opened. What
are they doing there? They are preaching, preaching all the time, and
preparing the way for us to hasten our work in building temples here and
elsewhere, and to go back to Jackson County and build the great temple of
the Lord. They are hurrying to get ready by the time that we are ready,
and we are all hurrying to get ready by the time our Elder Brother is
ready.
The wicked spirits that leave here and go into the spirit world, are
they wicked there? Yes.
The spirits of people that have lived upon the earth according to the
the [sic] best light they had, who were as honest and sincere as men and
women could be, if they lived on the earth without the privilege of the
Gospel and the Priesthood and the keys thereof are still under the power
and control of evil spirits, to a certain extent. No matter where they
lived on the face of the earth, all men and women that have died without
the keys and power of the Priesthood, though they might have been honest
and sincere and have done every thing they could, are under the influence
of the devil, more or less. Are they as much so as others? No, no. Take
those that were wicked designedly, who knowingly lived without the Gospel
when it was within their reach, they are given up to the devil, they
become tools to the devil and spirits of devils.
Go to the time when the Gospel came to the earth in the days of
Joseph, take the wicked that have opposed this people and persecuted them
to the death, and they are sent to hell. Where are they? They are in the
spirit world, and are just as busy as they possibly can be to do every
thing they can against the Prophet and the Apostles, against Jesus and his
kingdom. They are just as wicked and malicious in their actions against
the cause of truth, as they were while on the earth in their fleshly
tabernacles.
Joseph, also, goes there, but has the devil power over him? No,
because he held the keys and power of the eternal Priesthood here, and got
the victory while here in the flesh.
Before I proceed further I will give you an illustration. Send a man
that is used to magnetizing people, and see if he can magnetize an Elder
in Israel, one that is full of the faith, or a faithful sister in the
Church of God. Could Le Roy Sunderland, one of their greatest characters,
magnetize one of the Latter Day Saints? No. He might as well try to
magnetize the sun in the firmament. Why? Because the Priesthood is upon
you, and he would try to magnetize you by another and lesser power.
The principle of animal magnetism is true, but wicked men use it to
an evil purpose. I have never told you much about my belief in this
magnetic principle. Speaking is a true gift, but I can speak to the glory
of God, or to the injury of His cause and to my condemnation, as I please;
and still the gift is of God. The gift of animal magnetism is a gift of
God, but wicked men use it to promote the cause of the devil, and that is
precisely the difference. You may travel through the world and make
inquiries where the Elders have traveled, and you cannot find an instance
where the devil has gained power over a good an faithful Elder through
this power. He cannot do it, because the faithful Elder of this Church
holds keys and power above that which is used by those who go round
lecturing on magnetism, and operating upon all who will become passive to
their will. They have not the same power that the faithful Elders of
Israel have, for those Elders have the eternal Priesthood upon them, which
is above and presides over every other power.
When the faithful Elders, holding this Priesthood, go into the spirit
world they carry with them the same power and Priesthood that they had
while in the mortal tabernacle. They have got the victory over the power
of the enemy here, consequently when they leave this world they have
perfect control over those evil spirits, and they cannot be buffeted by
Satan. But as long as they live in the flesh no being on this earth, of
the posterity of Adam, can be free from the power of the devil.
When this portion of the school is out, the one in which we descend
below all things and commence upon this earth to learn the first lessons
for an eternal exaltation, if you have been a faithful scholar, and have
overcome, if you have brought the flesh into subjection by the power of
the Priesthood, if you have honored the body, when it crumbles to the
earth and your spirit is freed from this home of clay, has the devil any
power over it? Not one particle.
This is an advantage which the faithful will gain; but while they
live on earth they are subject to the buffetings of Satan. Joseph and
those who have died in the faith of the Gospel are free from this; if a
mob should come upon Joseph now, he has power to disperse them with the
motion of his hand, and to drive them where he pleases. But is Joseph
glorified? No, he is preaching to the spirits in prison. He will get his
resurrection the first of any one in this kingdom, for he was the first
that God made choice of to bring forth the work of the last days.
His office is not taken from him, he has only gone to labor in
another department of the operations of the Almighty. He is still an
Apostle, still a Prophet and is doing the work of an Apostle and Prophet;
he has gone one step beyond us and gained a victory that you and I have
not gained, still he has not yet gone into the celestial kingdom, or if he
has it has been by a direct command of the Almighty, and that too to
return again so soon as the purpose has been accomplished.
No man can enter the celestial kingdom and be crowned with a
celestial glory, until he gets his resurrected body; but Joseph and the
faithful who have died have gained a victory over the power of the devil,
which you and I have not yet gained. So long as we live in these
tabernacles, so long we will be subject to the temptations and power of
the devil; but when we lay them down, if we have been faithful, we have
gained the victory so far; but even then we are not so far advanced at
once as to be beyond the neighborhood of evil spirits.
The third part of the hosts of heaven, that were cast out, have not
been taken away, at least not that I have found out, and the other
two-thirds have got to come and take bodies, all of them who have not, and
have the opportunity of preparing for a glorious resurrection and
exaltation, before we get through with this world; and those who are
faithful in the flesh to the requirements of the Gospel will gain this
victory over the spirits that are not allowed to take bodies, which class
comprises one third of the hosts of Heaven.
Those who have died without the Gospel are continually afflicted by
those evil spirits, who say to them--"Do not go to hear that man Joseph
Smith preach, or David Patten, or any of their associates, for they are
deceivers."
Spirits are just as familiar with spirits as bodies are with bodies,
though spirits are composed of matter so refined as not to be tangible to
this coarser organization. They walk, converse, and have their meetings;
and the spirits of good men like Joseph and the Elders, who have left this
Church on earth for a season to operate in another sphere, are rallying
all their powers and going from place to place preaching the Gospel, and
Joseph is directing them, saying, go ahead, my brethren, and if they hedge
up your way, walk up and command them to disperse. You have the
Priesthood and can disperse them, but if any of them wish to hear the
Gospel, preach to them.
Can they baptize them? No. What can they do? They can preach the
Gospel, and when we have the privilege of building up Zion, the time will
come for saviors to come up on Mount Zion. My brother Joseph spoke of
this principle this forenoon. Some of those who are not in mortality will
come along and say, "Here are a thousand names I wish you to attend to in
this temple, and when you have got through with them I will give you
another thousand;" and the Elders of Israel and their wives will go forth
to officiate for their forefathers, the men for the men, and the women for
the women.
A man is ordained and receives his washings, anointings, and
endowments for the male portion of his and his wife's progenitors, and his
wife for the female portion.
Then in the spirit world they will say, "Do you not see somebody at
work for you? The Lord remembers you and has revealed to His servants on
the earth, what to do for you."
Is the spirit world here? It is not beyond the sun, but is on this
earth that was organized for the people that have lived and that do and
will live upon it. No other people can have it, and we can have no other
kingdom until we are prepared to inhabit this eternally. In the spirit
world those who have got the victory go on to prepare the way for those
who live in the flesh, fulfilling the work of saviors on Mount Zion.
To accomplish this work there will have to be not only one temple but
thousands of them, and thousands and tens of thousands of men and women
will go into those temples and officiate for people who have lived as far
back as the Lord shall reveal. If we are faithful enough to go back and
build that great temple which Joseph has written about, and should the
Lord acknowledge the labor of His servants, then watch, for you will see
somebody whom you have seen before, and many of you will see him whom you
have not seen before, but you will know him as soon as you see him.
This privilege we cannot enjoy now, because the power of Satan is
such that we cannot perform the labor that is necessary to enable us to
obtain it.
When we commence again on the walls of the temple to be built on this
Block, the news will fly from Maine to California. Who will tell them?
Those little devils that are around here, that are around this earth in
the spirit world; there will be millions of them ready to communicate the
news to devils in Missouri, Illinois, California, Mexico, and in all the
world. And the question will be, "What is the news? There is some
devilish thing going on among the 'Mormons' and I know it. Those
'Mormons' ought to be killed." They do not know what stirs them up to
this feeling, it is those spirits that are continually near to them.
We all have got spirits to attend us; when the eyes of the servant of
Elijah were opened he saw that those for them were more than those that
were against them. There are two thirds for us, and one third against us;
and there is not a son or daughter of Adam but what will be saved in some
kingdom and receive a glory and an exaltation to a degree, except those
who have had the privilege of the Gospel and rejected it and sinned
against the Holy Ghost, they will become servants to devils.
How long will they exist? I do not know, neither do I care. Every
one of this people, with the Saints that have lived before us, from the
days of Adam until now, and those that may come after us, all say, "Build
up the kingdom of God." What for" To save the inhabitants of the earth,
to get them all back into some kind of a kingdom where they can be
administered to, and not have this organized matter return again to its
native element, for we wish this work to be preserved.
You know that when you make a farm you dislike to see it overrun with
weeds, and it would hurt your feelings to see your houses, barns, and
other property destroyed. True, you can make more, but how do you suppose
the Lord feels, who is much more compassionate than we are, when He sees
the devil gaining an advantage over His creatures to lead them away to
destroy them? Do you not suppose that the bowels of His compassion yearn
over this people, and that He is angry with the wicked? Do you not
suppose that He often feels like saying, "O, my children, why do you not
hearken to what I tell you, and take hold of the principles of life, and
cease pursuing a course that is calculated to destroy you? I have labored
to bring forth this organization, and I do not wish to lose my labor, but
I desire to have you hearken to the counsel I give to you and prepare
yourselves to endure forever and come into my presence, and if you cannot
do that and abide a celestial law, at least abide the law of a kingdom
where I can send angels to you, and I will send and comfort you and
administer unto you and will raise you up and make you glad and happy, and
will fill you with joy and with peace."
It is our business to live our religion, and it is all that we have
to do. "But," says one, "I thought we had got to raise grain." I have
told you, many a time, that I would not give you anything for your faith,
without you add works. How are you going to work to build up the kingdom?
I now wish to leave the subject we have been considering, for I think
I have talked enough about it for the present, and tell you how to prepare
yourselves to build up the kingdom of God and save the honest in heart.
Here we are in the valleys of these mountains, and I say that there
is not a people on the earth that would live here but the Latter-day
Saints, and it seems almost more than they can do to stay here. Now if
they would be as swift to hearken to counsel as they are to get rich, and
as they are in pleasing their own dispositions, we should not see the hard
times that we now see.
When we first came here we had not been two weeks on this square,
before the Big Cottonwood canal which we are now building, was just as
visible to me as it ever will be when it is completed, and you will yet
see boats on it. It has to be there. What for? To sustain this people.
Do you think we want the water that is now wasted in those natural
channels? Say, sisters, do you think we want any more water for
irrigation? Yes, you do, for your peas are drying up, and you are not
likely to have many cucumbers for pickling.
Have this people been as swift to hearken to counsel as to get rich?
No, and many of you would rather pray the Lord to send rain, than to
appropriate, by your labor, the waters that are continually flowing from
these kanyons. I tell you now, as I have before said, I do not have much
faith to pray for rain; and if I had faith and power to bring rain upon
the crops in these valleys, I would not do it. Why? Because it would
throw many of you into lazy, slothful, idle habits, and every Gentile that
came through here would covet your farms, and would say, "This is the
finest country we ever saw, how rich you are, how your cattle thrive upon
the hills, your grain grows almost without labor in cultivating the
earth."
They would soon begin to desire your inheritances, those houses and
this city, and it would be but a few years before we would have to leave,
or contend with them. As it is now, there is no people that would live
here, except the Latter-day Saints, and they are decidedly the best people
upon the earth, even though I sometimes chastise them, and what I say is
true, for a few deserve chastising.
I do not believe that the city of Enoch made greater advancement, in
the same period of time, than this people have done in the twenty-six
years of their career, which is saying a great deal for them. Who else
would live here? Nobody. Put Gentiles here and tell them that they had
to be confined here, and they would consider themselves in a worse prison
than a penitentiary.
Do some of the brethren murmur a little, and say if it were not for
"Mormonism," they would do thus and so? What of that? Is there any other
people who would do as well as you do? No, not another.
When I find fault with the people for not hearkening to counsel, it
is because I want them to live so as speedily to obtain the reward of
righteousness, and not have to wait so long for it.
This is a good people, though there are some in our midst who do not
do right. Plant the Gentiles here, and you would soon see cutting throats
and hear the sharp crack of the rifle at the water sects. There would be
far more fighting for water than there is among the "Mormons" though some
of them steal it now.
Many of the brethren feel as I do; if I had my crops growing and
somebody should come along and steal my water, I should say, you will
raise grain, will you not? Well, go ahead, for we shall get it, if you
raise it.
Here sits a man I can now look upon who says I am a greater despot
than the Emperor of Russia. May be I am, for should I see the poor
suffering, I could knock open flour barrels better than Alexander II, and
give the contents to the poor with a better heart than he could.
Who in the wide world could live here more peaceably than we do?
Nobody; and I thank God for hard times. Do you suppose that the Gentiles
want this country? No; they say, "It is a God-forsaken country," and I
say, hallelujah, for it is the very country I prefer, a country where
nobody else will live but those who are willing to keep the commandments
of God.
I wish to be tyrannical enough, if that is the proper term, to make
you good men and good women. Go to with your might this year, and see if
we cannot prepare for another. This is a great Saint raising country; we
have seen wheat grow here almost spontaneously, and there could not be a
better Saint raising country.
If a person is honest before God and has more than he needs for his
own use, and does not covet it, he will make a distribution to those who
have not, and there need not any person go without necessary food. I know
that there are many here who have given out much flour, and they have by
no means suffered on account of their liberality. There is a man sitting
on the stand who says that scraped the bottom of the flour barrel, and on
the next morning has gone to scrape again, to give out more to the poor,
and found it half full. She asked him "If he had put it there." He
answered, "No." "Well," said she, "I scraped it out last night."
The Lord wishes to try you; shall we say that we will hoard up the
blessings of God, that we may be able to say that we have a large amount
to ourselves? No, but divide them out, and do so with an honest heart, in
all humility; and let those who receive blessings receive them with an
honest heart, in all humility and thankfulness. Some who have, will
withhold, and some of the poor are covetous and will grab a little here
and there and lay it up, or waste it. If you continue in covetousness,
your substance will shrink and waste away.
Let the poor, those who have to depend upon their brethren for bread,
after they have done all they can to obtain it themselves be thankful, and
take no more than they require to use in a frugal manner. By taking such
a course, no person would suffer.
With some there is a fearfulness, a want of faith and confidence in
God, and a stingy close fistedness; this is the cause of many's being so
pinched. As I have often done, I again invite those who are distrustful,
and fearful that God is going to forsake this people, to leave, if they do
not wish to be Saints and repose confidence in the God of the Saints. I
wish such characters would leave; I shall be glad if they will leave. I
would not have them stay: I would rather give them flour and help them to
leave because they are a curse to the Saints. And if the devil puts into
their hearts to leave, I know there will be a certain portion of those
evil spirits go with them, and still we shall always have plenty more
coming.
All I ask of you is to apply your hearts to the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and be Saints. I will not ask anything else on this earth of you
only to live so as to know the mind and will of God when you receive it,
and then abide in it. If you will do that, you will be prepared to do a
great many things, and you will find that there is much good to be done.
We have no time to spend foolishly, for we have just as much on our
hands as we can probably do, to keep pace with that portion of our
brethren who have gone into the other room.
TESTIMONY TO THE DIVINITY OF JOSEPH SMITH'S MISSION--ELDERS
SHOULD GO TO THEIR MISSIONS WITHOUT PURSE OR SCRIP--THE
LORD DEALS WITH THE SAINTS--JESUS THEIR PRESIDENT--SATAN ANGRY.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, August 31, 1856.
I appear before you to bear my testimony to the truth of "Mormonism,"
that Joseph Smith, jun., was a Prophet called of God, and that he did
translate the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost.
This same testimony all can bear, who have received and continue to retain
the Spirit of the Gospel.
We are happy to hear from our brethren who have returned from the
fields of their labor, it rejoices our hearts, and we like to see their
faces. I know how they feel when they return home, for I have felt many
times, in returning to the Saints, as though the privilege of beholding
their faces was a feast to overflowing, my soul has been full. I rejoice
all the time, and I can understand why brother Clinton has rejoiced so
exceedingly; it is because the lightning and thunder are in him, and
because he gave vent to his feelings. Brother Robins' calling has been
different, of such a nature that the lightning and thunder in him have
lain dormant, to a certain degree, and he has not enjoyed himself so well
as he would, had he been sent solely to preach and build up churches.
Let me reduce this to your understandings. Right here, in our midst,
many who gather from foreign lands, who have undergone all the toil,
labor, and hardship that it is possible for their nature to sustain on
their journey, after they arrive in these valleys begin to sink in their
spirits, neglect their duties, and in a little time do not know whether
"Mormonism" is true or not. Take the same persons and keep them among the
wicked, and they will preserve their armor bright, but it has become dull
and rusty here; this is the cause of so many leaving these valleys. The
seas are so calm and the vessel is wafted over them so smoothly, and in a
manner so congenial to the feelings of the people, that they forget that
they are in Zion's ship. This is the main reason of so many leaving for
the States, California, and other places. Send those persons among their
enemies, among those who will oppose "Mormonism," among those who will
oppose truth, and let them be continually persecuted, and they will know
very quickly whether they are "Mormons" or not, for they must go to the
one side or the other. But the condition of society here, and the
feelings of the people, are so different from those of the wicked, that
many glide smoothly along, forget their religion and their God, and
finally think that this is not the place for them and go away.
I will now state that I am thus far perfectly satisfied with the
labors of the brethren who have returned from their missions this season,
and have come on the stand to-day, and at other times; I am highly
gratified with the doings and labors of those Elders.
With regard to brother John Taylor, I will say that he has one of the
strongest intellects of any man that can be found; he is a powerful man,
he is a mighty man, and we may say that he is a powerful editor, but I
will use a term to suit myself, and say that he is one of the strongest
editors that ever wrote. Concerning his financial abilities, I have
nothing to say; those who are acquainted with the matter, know how "The
Mormon" has been sustained. We sent brother Taylor, and other brethren
with him, to start that paper without purse or scrip, and if they had not
accomplished that object, we should have known that they did not trust in
their God, and did not do their duty.
Let me call your reflections to the days of Joseph; here are some of
the Twelve, here are the Seventies and Hgh [sic] Priests, and members of
the High Council, and several who have been long in the Church, did any of
you ever receive any support from the Church, while on your missions in
the days of Joseph? Were you all to answer, you would say that you do not
know the time.
I came into this Church in the spring of 1832. Previous to my being
baptized, I took a mission to Canada at my own expense; and from the time
that I was baptized until the day of our sorrow and affliction, at the
martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, no summer passed over my head but what I
was traveling and preaching, and the only thing I ever received from the
Church, during over twelve years, and the only means that were ever given
me by the Prophet, that I now recollect, was in 1842, when brother Joseph
sent me the half of a small pig that the brethren had brought to him, I
did not ask him for it; it weighed 93 pounds. And that fall, previous to
my receiving that half of a pig, brother H. C. Kimball and myself were
engaged all the time in pricing property that came in on tithing, and we
were also engaged in gathering tithing, and I had an old saddle valued at
two dollars presented to me, and brother Heber was credited two dollars in
the Church books for one day's services, by brother Willard Richards who
was then keeping those books. Brother Heber said, "Blot that out, for I
don't want it." I think it was crossed out, and so was the saddle, for I
did not want it, even had it been given to me. These were the only
articles I ever received in the days of Joseph, so far as I recollect.
I have traveled and preached, and at the same time sustained my
family by my labor and economy. If I borrowed one hundred dollars, or
fifty, or if I had five dollars, it almost universally went into the hands
of brother Joseph, to pay lawyers' fees and to liberate him from the power
of his enemies, so far as it would go. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars
that I have managed to get, to borrow and trade for, I have handed over to
Joseph when I came home. That is the way I got help, and it was good for
me; it learned me a great deal, though I had learned, before I heard of
"Mormonism," to take care of number one.
For me to travel and preach without purse or scrip, was never hard; I
never saw the day, I never was in the place, nor went into a house, when I
was alone, or when I would take the lead and do the talking, but what I
could get all I wanted. Though I have been with those who would take the
lead and be mouth, and been turned out of doors a great many times, and
could not get a night's lodging. But when I was mouth I never was turned
out of doors; I could make the acquaintance of the family, and sit and
sing to them and chat with them, and they would feel friendly towards me;
and when they learned that I was a "Mormon" Elder, it was after I had
gained their good feelings.
When the brethren were talking about starting a press in New York,
and how it has been upheld, I did wish to relate an incident in my
experience. In company with several of the Twelve I was sent to England
in 1839. We started from home without purse or scrip, and most of the
Twelve were sick; and those who were not sick when they started were sick
on the way to Ohio; brother Taylor was left to die by the road-side, by
old father Coltrin, though he did not die. I was not able to walk to the
river, not so far as across this block, no, not more than half as far; I
had to be helped to the river, in order to get into a boat to cross it.
This was about our situation. I had not even an overcoat; I took a small
quilt from the trundle bed, and that served for my overcoat, while I was
traveling to the State of New York, when I had a coarse sattinet overcoat
given to me. Thus we went to England, to a strange land to sojourn among
strangers.
When we reached England we designed to start a paper, but we had not
the first penny to do it with. I had enough to buy a hat and pay my
passage to Preston, for from the time I left home, I had worn an old cap
which my wife made out of a pair of old pantaloons; but the most of us
were entirely destitute of means to buy even any necessary article.
We went to Preston and held our Conference, and decided that we would
publish a paper; brother Parley P. Pratt craved the privilege of editing
it, and we granted him the privilege. We also decided to print three
thousand hymn books, though we had not the first cent to begin with, and
were strangers in a strange land. We appointed brother Woodruff to
Herefordshire, and I accompanied him on his journey to that place. I
wrote to brother Pratt for information about his plans, and he sent me his
prospectus, which stated that when he had a sufficient number of
subscribers and money enough in hand to justify his publishing the paper,
he would proceed with it. How long we might have waited for that I know
not, but I wrote to him to publish two thousand papers, and I would foot
the bill. I borrowed two hundred and fifty pounds of sister Jane Benbow,
one hundred of Brother Thomas Kington, and returned to Manchester, where
we printed three thousand Hymn Books, and five thousand Books of Mormon,
and issued two thousand Millennial Stars monthly, and in the course of the
summer printed and gave away rising of sixty thousand tracts. I also paid
from five to ten dollars per week for my board, and hired a house for
brother Willard Richards and his wife who came to Manchester, and
sustained them; and gave sixty pounds to brother P. P. Pratt to bring his
wife from New York. I also commenced the emigration in that year.
I was there one year and sixteen days, with my brethren the Twelve
and during that time I bought all my clothing, except one pair of
pantaloons, which the sisters gave me in Liverpool soon after I arrived
there, and which I really needed. I told the brethren, in one of my
discourses, that there was no need of their begging, for if they needed
anything the sisters could understand that. The sisters took the hint,
and the pantaloons were forthcoming.
I paid three hundred and eighty dollars to get the work started in
London, and when I arrived home, in Nauvoo, I owed no person one farthing.
Brother Kington received his pay from the books that were printed, and
sister Benbow, who started to America the same year, left names enough of
her friends to receive the two hundred and fifty pounds, which amount was
paid them, notwithstanding I held her agreement that she had given it to
the Church.
We left two thousand five hundred dollars worth of books in the
Office, paid our passages home, and paid about six hundred dollars to
emigrate the poor who were starving to death, besides giving away the
sixty thousand tracts; and that too though I had not a sixpence when we
first landed in Preston, and I do not know that one of the Twelve had.
I could not help thinking that if I could accomplish that much in
England, in that poor, hard country, it could not be much of a job for a
man to establish paper in New York. I thought that to be one of the
smallest things that could be; I could make money at it. We sent brother
George Q. Cannon, one of brother Taylor's nephews, to California, over a
year ago last spring, to print the Book of Mormon in the Hawaiian
language. He has printed a large and handsome edition of that book; has
published a weekly paper and paid for it; has paid for the press and the
type, and paid his board and clothing bills, though he had not a farthing
to start with, that is, he went without purse and scrip, so far as I know,
as did also brothers Bull and Wilkie who went with him.
It is one of the smallest labors that I could think of to establish a
paper and sustain it in St. Louis, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, or any
of the eastern cities. I wish to say this much, for the information of
those who think it is a great task to establish and sustain a paper;
though I am not aware that any of the brethren think so.
I will relate another incident, which ccourred [sic] during our
journey to England. Brother George A. Smith accompanied me to New York
City, and we had not money enough to pay the last five miles' fare.
We started from New Haven in a steam boat, and when we left the boat,
I hired passage in the stage to New York; the captain of the steam boat
happened to be in the same stage.
When we left the coach, I said to the captain, will you have the
kindness to pay this gentleman's passage and mine. I had had no
conversation with him during the day, only in interchanging the common and
usual compliments, but when we left him he greeted us cordially, and said
that he had paid our stage-fare with the greatest pleasure, and shook our
hands as heartily as a brother, saying, "May God bless and prosper you in
your labors."
In five minutes we were in the house with Parley P. Pratt, who had
moved to that city the fall before. As soon as those of the Twelve who
were appointed on that mission to England came in, we concluded that we
would not go among the Branches, but seek out and preach to those who had
not had an opportunity of hearing the Gospel.
Accordingly we separated and went into many parts of the State of New
York, Long Island and New Jersey, and some went into the city of
Philadelphia.
After we had got through with the regular meetings, we proposed to
the brethren, if any of them wished to have meetings in their private
houses and would tell us when and where that we would meet with them.
It was not more than a week or ten days before we had been in fifty
different places in New York city and the surrounding country, and those
who came to hear us invited their neighbors, and thus we preached and
baptized, and soon gathered means enough to defray the expenses of our
passage to England, principally from those who were the fruits of our own
labor.
Though the people in the States are daily becoming more hardened
against the truth, yet if I was in New York this day, and it was my
business to be there, I would not be there long before I would have many
Elders preaching through different parts of that city; I would have them
preaching in the English, Danish, French, German, and other languages.
And soon would have Elders dispersed all over the State, and would raise
up new friends enough to sustain me, that is if the Lord would help me,
and if He did not I would leave.
That is the way we have traveled and preached, but now we do a great
deal for our missionaries, for they gather money on tithing, and ask me to
credit such and such a man so much on tithing; this course tends to shut
up every avenue for business here.
We do not receive cash on tithing from abroad, because our
missionaries are so liberal, and feel so rich, that they gather every
dollar that can be scraped up, and then come here and have it credited to
such and such individuals on tithing, without handing over the money.
This course hedges up the work at head quarters. Did I have that
privilege? No, never; and men should not have it now. If a paper should
be published, brethren ought to have wisdom enough to sustain themselves
and the paper, and they can do it.
I do not wish to find fault with our missionaries, but many of them
now live on cream and short cake, butter, honey, light biscuit, and sweet
meats, while we had to take the butter milk and potatoes. That kind of
fare was good enough for us, but now it is short cake and cream, light
biscuit, with butter and honey, and sweet meats of every kind, and even
then some of them think that they are abused.
I see some here who did not have as good fare as buttermilk and
potatoes; I see some of the brethren who have been to Australia, the East
Indies, &c. When I returned from England, I said it is the last time I
will travel as I have done, unless the Lord specially requires me to do
so; for if we could ride even as comfortably as brother Woodruff once rode
on one of the Mississippi steam boats we considered ourselves well off.
All the bed he had was the chines of barrels, with his feet hanging on a
brace, and he thought himself well off to get the privilege of riding in
any shape, to escape constant walking.
How do they go now? They take the first cabins, cars, and carriages.
I wish to see them cross the Plains on foot, and then have wisdom enough
to preach their way to the city of New York, and there, in the same
manner, to get money enough to cross the ocean. But no, they must start
from here with a full purse, and take broad cloth from here, or money to
buy it in the States, and hire first cabin passages in the best ocean
steamers; and after all this many think it is hard times.
I want to see the Elders live on buttermilk and potatoes, and when
they return be more faithful. But they go as missionaries of the kingdom
of God, and when they have been gone a year or two, many of them come back
merchants, and how they swell, "how popular 'Mormonism' is, we can get
trusted in St. Louis for ten thousand dollars as well as not, and in New
York brother Brigham's word is so good that we can get all the goods we
want; 'Mormonism' is becoming quite popular." Yes, and so are hell and
the works of the devil.
When "Mormonism" finds favor with the wicked in this land, it will
have gone into the shade; but until the power of the Priesthood is gone,
"Mormonism" will never become popular with the wicked. "Mormonism" is not
one farthing better than it was in the days of Joseph.
The hand of the Almighty is over mankind, and "Mormonism" is hid from
them; they do not know anything about it. The Lord deals with this
people, and draws them into close quarters, and makes them run the
gauntlet, and tries their faith and feelings. He draws them into diverse
circumstances to prove whether they believe in Jesus Christ, or not; and
if need be He will let the enemy persecute us and destroy many of us; He
will let them take our substance and drive us from our homes. Was
"Mormonism" popular with those who have formerly persecuted, killed and
driven us? Yes, as much so as it is at this day.
The hand of the Almighty is over the wicked, and He handles them
according to His good pleasure, as He does the Saints. His hand is over
us, and His hand is over them. But there is a thick mist cast before
their eyes, so they do not discern the truth of "Mormonism." Do you
wonder that they are mad, when they see the progress of truth? I do not.
The different political parties are in opposition. One party says,
"We are republicans, and we are opposed in principle to all who are not of
our party." Can the various parties be reconciled? No. Each party
wishes to elect a President of the United States. We design to elect
Jesus Christ for our President, and the wicked wish to elect Lucifer, the
Son of the Morning, and swear that they will have him; and we declare that
we will serve Jesus Christ, and he shall be our President.
Do you think that the democrats and republicans have made friends?
No, they are just as much opposed to each other now as ever they were, and
the devil is just as much opposed to Jesus now as he was when the revolt
took place in heaven. And as the devil increases his numbers by getting
the people to be wicked, so Jesus Christ increases his numbers and
strength by getting the people to be humble and righteous. The human
family are going to the polls by and by, and they wish to know which party
is going to carry the day.
When you see mild weather, when all is smooth and our religion is
becoming popular, the Lord is casting mist before the eyes of the wicked,
and they do not see nor understand what will take place at the polls when
the day of voting comes. Those who vote for Jesus will be on the right
hand, and those who vote for Lucifer on the left; one part will be right
and the other wrong. We calculate that we are right, and we are going to
vote for the sovereign we believe in; and when he comes behold he will go
into the chair of state and take the reins of government. Do you suppose
the wicked will feel bad about it? That is what they are afraid of all
the time.
They may kill the bodies we have, they may strive to injure us, but
when the day of the great election comes, as the Lord Almighty lives, we
shall gain our President, and we anticipate holding office under him. Do
you blame the wicked for being mad? No. They desire to rule, to hold the
reins of government on this earth; they have held them a great while. I
do not blame them for being suspicious of us; men in high standing are
suspicious of us, hence the frequent cry, "Treason, treason, we are going
to have trouble with the people in Utah." What is the matter? Wherein
can they point out one particle of injury that we have done to them?
True we have more wives than one, and what of that? They have their
scores of thousands of prostitutes, we have none. But polygamy they are
unconstitutionally striving to prevent: when they will accomplish their
object is not for me to say. They have already presented a resolution in
Congress that no man, in any of the Territories of the United States,
shall be allowed to have more than one wife, under a penalty not exceeding
five years imprisonment, and five hundred dollars fine. How will they get
rid of this awful evil in Utah? They will have to expend about three
hundred millions of dollars for building a prison, for we must all go into
prison. And after they have expended that amount for a prison, and roofed
if over from the summit of the Rocky Mountains to the summit of the Sierra
Nevada, we will dig out and go preaching through the world. (Voice on the
stand: what will become of the women, will they go to prison with us?)
Brother Heber seems concerned about the women's going with us; they will
be with us, for we shall be here together. This is a little amusing.
Brother Robbins, in his remarks, said that the Constitution of the
United States forbids making an ex post facto law. The presenting of the
resolution alluded to shows their feelings, they wish the Constitution out
of existence, and there is no question but that they will get rid of it as
quickly as they can, and that would be by ex post facto law, which the
Constitution of the United States strictly forbids.
Brother Robbins also spoke of what they term the "nigger drivers and
nigger worshippers," and observed how keen their feelings are upon their
favourite topic slavery. The State of New York used to be a slave State,
but there slavery has for some time been abolished. Under their law for
abolishing slavery the then male slaves had to serve until they were 28
years old, and if my memory serves me correctly, the females until they
were 25, before they could be free. This was to avoid the loss of, what
they called, property in the hands of individuals. After that law was
passed the people began to dispose of their blacks, and to let them buy
themselves off. They then passed a law that black children should be
free, the same as white children, and so it remains to this day.
But at the time that slavery was tolerated in the northern and
eastern States, if you touched that question it would fire a man quicker
than any thing else in the world; there was something very peculiar about
it, and it is so now. Go into a slave State and speak to a man on the
subject, even though he never owned a slave, and you fire up his feelings
in defence of that institution; there is no other subject that will touch
him as quickly. They are very tenacious and sensitive on those points,
and the North are becoming as sensitive as the South. The North are slow
and considerate; they have their peculiar customs; and are influenced by
the force of education, climate, &c., in a manner which causes them to
think twice before they act; and often they will think and speak many
times before they act. The spirit of the South is to think, speak, and
act all at the same moment. This is the difference between the two
people.
Matters are coming to such a point, the feelings of both parties are
aroused to that degree, that they would as soon fight as not. But I do
not wish to speak any longer in that strain, though, if you want to know
what I think about the question, I think both parties are decidedly wrong.
It is not the prerogative of the President of the United States to
meddle with this matter, and Congress is not allowed, according to the
Constitution, to legislate upon it. If Utah was admitted into the Union
as a sovereign State, and we chose to introduce slavery here, it is not
their business to meddle with it; and even if we treated our slaves in an
oppressive manner, it is still none of their business and they ought not
to meddle with it.
If we introduce the practice of polygamy it is not their prerogative
to meddle with it; if we should all turn to be Roman Catholics to-day, if
we all turned to the old Mother Church, it would not be their prerogative,
it would not be their business, to meddle with us on that account. If we
are Mormons or Methodists, or worship the sun or a white dog, or if we
worship a dumb idol, or all turn Shaking Quakers and have no wife, it is
not their prerogative to meddle with these affairs, for in so doing they
would violate the Constitution.
There is not a Territory in the Union that is looked upon with so
suspicious an eye as is Utah, and yet it is the only part of the nation
that cares anything about the Constitution. What have they done in the
States? Why, in some places they have celebrated the fourth of July by
hoisting the National flag bottom side up, making a burlesque of the
celebration, but "Utah is hell and the devil." This reminds me of a
circumstance that transpired in England. A boy was brushing his shoes on
Sunday morning, and a priest observing him said, "What, do you brush your
shoes on Sunday?" "Yes, sir; do you brush your coat?" "Yes." "Well, I
suppose it is life and salvation for you to brush your coat, but hell and
damnation for me to brush my shoes." That is the difference.
"Mormonism" is true, and all hell cannot overthrow it. All the
devil's servants on the earth may do all they can, and, as brother Clinton
has just said, after twenty six years faithful operation and exertion by
our enemies, including the times when Joseph had scarcely a man to stand
by him, and when the persecution was as severe on him as it ever was in
the world, what have they accomplished? They have succeeded in making us
an organized Territory, and they are determined to make us an independent
State or Government, and as the Lord lives it will be so. (The
congregation shouted amen.) I say, as the Lord lives, we are bound to
become a sovereign State in the Union, or an independent nation by
ourselves, and let them drive us from this place if they can; they cannot
do it. I do not throw this out as a banter; you Gentiles, and hickory and
basswood "Mormons," can write it down if you please, but write it as I
speak it.
I wish you to understand that God rules and reigns, that he led us to
this land and gave us a Territorial government. Was this the design of
the wicked? No. Their design was to banish us from the earth, but they
have driven us into notoriety and power; we are now raised to a position
where we can converse with kings and emperors.
In the days of Joseph it was considered a great privilege to be
permitted to speak to a member of Congress, but twenty-six years will not
pass away before the Elders of this Church will be as much thought of as
the kings on their thrones. The Lord Almighty will roll on the wheels of
His work, and none can stop them; and they cannot drive us from these
mountains, because the Lord will not suffer them to do so. I desire them
to let us alone; "hands off and money down," we crave no jobs and make
none. Let them attend to their own business, and we will build up Zion
while they go to hell. Jesus Christ will be the President, and we are his
officers, and they will have to leave the ground: for they will find that
Jesus has the right of soil. This they are afraid of, do you blame them?
No, I do not, and you should not: let them feel bad and worry.
I have frequently told you, and I tell you again, that the very
report of the Church and kingdom of God on earth is a terror to all
nations, wheresoever the sound thereof goeth. The sound of "Mormonism" is
a terror to towns, counties, states, the pretended republican governments,
and to all the world. Why? Because, as the Lord Almighty lives and the
Prophets have ever written the truth, this work is destined to
revolutionize the world and bring all under subjection to the law of God,
who is our lawgiver.
I am still governor of this Territory, to the constant chagrin of my
enemies; but I do not in the least neglect the duties of my Priesthood,
nor my office as governor; and while I honor my Priesthood I will do honor
to my office as governor. This is hard to be understood by the wicked,
but it is true. The feelings of many are much irritated because I am
here, and Congress has requested the President to inquire why I still hold
the office of governor in the Territory of Utah. I can answer that
question; I hold the office by appointment, and am to hold it until my
successor is appointed and qualified, which has not yet been done. I
shall bow to Jesus, my Governor, and under him, to brother Joseph. Though
he has gone behind the vail, and I cannot see him, he is my head, under
Jesus Christ and the ancient Apostles, and I shall go ahead and build up
the kingdom. But if I was now sitting in the chair of state at the White
House in Washington, everything in my office would be subject to my
religion. Why? Because it teaches me to deal justice and mercy to all.
I am satisfied to love righteousness and be full of the Holy Ghost, while
all hell yawns to destroy me, though it cannot do it.
If I were to forsake this kingdom, the car of righteousness would
roll over and crush me into insignificance; and so it will every other man
that gets out of the right path. What then are we going to do? We had
better stick to the ship than jump overboard, because if we stay aboard we
stand a good chance to be saved, but if we jump over we shall be drowned.
Who can help all these things? I did not devise the great scheme of
the Lord's opening the way to send this people to these mountains. Joseph
contemplated the move for years before it took place, but he could not get
here, for there was a watch placed upon him continually to see that he had
no communication with the Indians. This was in consequence of that which
is written in the Book of Mormon; one of the first evils alleged against
him was that he was going to connive with the Indians; but did he ever do
anything of the kind? No, he always strove to promote the best interest
of all, both red and white. Was it by any act of ours that this people
were driven into their midst? We are now their neighbors, we are on their
land, for it belongs to them as much as any soil ever belonged to any man
on earth; we are drinking their water, using their fuel and timber, and
raising our food from their ground.
I do not wish men to understand I had anything to do with our being
moved here, that was the providence of the Almighty; it was the power of
God that wrought out salvation for this people, I never could have devised
such a plan. What shall we do? Be still and know that the Lord is God:
and let all people be silent and know that the Lord Almighty reigns, and
does His pleasure on the earth. What had we better do? Be submissive and
passive, serve our God and walk humbly before Him.
The same Spirit pervades the Latter-day Saints in all the world, and
what the Lord designs doing here is made manifest to the brethren in
different parts, and the world feels the power of it and begins to
persecute. When we commence that temple you will hear the devils howl.
We are now doing but little besides taking care of ourselves, but the
kingdom has got to be taken and the Lord Jesus come to reign here. When
you wonder why it is that we are building many large buildings here and
the temple not going on, be silent and patient.
Here let me ask the old Saints a question. Have you ever seen a
temple finished, since this Church commenced? You have not. The Lord
says, "Be patient and gather together the strength of my house;" then do
not fret yourselves, and if you feel a little worried, be sure that you
are right, and do as you are counseled.
Why do we urge this upon the people? They are only counseled to love
God and do His will. You cannot point out where a man has been counseled
one hair's breadth from this course, and in this we have a right to be
urgent, and strenuous, and sharp in our remarks. Serve your God and love
your religion.
I could tell you a great many lessons that I have learned in
"Mormonism," but it is very seldom that I refer to past scenes, they
occupy but a small portion of my time and attention. Do you wish to know
the reason of this? It is because there is an eternity ahead of me, and
my eyes are ever open and gazing upon it, and I have but little time to
reflect upon the many circumstances I have been placed in thus far during
life. They are behind me, and I am thankful that I have not time to
reflect on past transactions, only once in a while, when it seems almost
necessary to refer to them.
May the Lord God of heaven and earth bless you, and may He preserve
us and all good men and women upon the earth, and give us power to blow
the Gospel trump to earth's remotest bounds, and gather up the honest in
heart, build up Zion, redeem Israel, rebuild Jerusalem, and fill the earth
with the glory and knowledge of our God, and we will shout hallelujah!
Amen.
A CALL FOR AN EXPRESSION OF THE CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE--
REPENTANCE AMONG THE SAINTS NECESSARY--RENEWING OF COVENANTS.
Instructions by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, September 21, 1856.
I have an impulse within me to preach the Gospel of salvation. I am
here by the providence of our God; I have professed to be a teacher of
righteousness for many years, and to preach the Gospel of salvation which
is still within me, and I feel to pour it forth upon the people; and I
present myself here this morning as a teacher in Israel, as a man having
the words of eternal life for the people.
I feel to call upon this congregation to know whether any of them, or
whether all of them wish salvation. If they do, I have the Gospel of
salvation for them; and I call upon the people to know whether they are
the friends of God, or only of themselves individually. I do not know of
any better way to get an expression from the people, as to whether they
wish the Gospel preached to them, whether they desire to believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, to obey his counsels, and live to his glory, denying
themselves of worldly lusts and of every thing that is sensual and
contrary to his Gospel, and feel as though they wanted to be Saints of the
Most High, than to have the brethren and sisters, those who so wish and
desire, manifest it by rising upon their feet. You will observe all who
do not rise. [The vast congregation all responded by standing up.] Take
your seats again. You have manifested that you want to be Saints, and I
am happy for the privilege of talking to such a people.
When we get the font prepared that is now being built, I will take
you into the waters of baptism, if you repent of your sins. If you will
covenant to live your religion and be Saints of the Most High, you shall
have that privilege, and I will have the honor of baptizing you in that
font, or of seeing that it is done.
As for living here, as I have done for a length of time, hid up in
the chambers of the Lord, with a people that are full of contention, full
of covetousness, full of pride, and full of iniquity, I will not do it.
And if the people will not repent, let the sinners and hypocrites look
out. I will repent with you and I will try with my might to get the
spirit of my calling; and if I have not that spirit now to a fulness, I
will get more of it, so as to enjoy it to its fulness. And if I should be
filled with the power and spirit of the mission that is upon me, I shall
not spare the wicked; I shall be like a flaming sword against them, and so
will all those that live their religion; it is not to be suffered any
longer.
As I told you last Sabbath, if I was not mistaken, my feelings were
that this people were preparing themselves, many of them, for apostacy;
were preparing themselves for the apostacy of their neighbors and their
families; their children and their friends were all leading the way of the
sinner. I had not then an idea that I was mistaken; I have not now an
idea that I am mistaken. I understand these things perfectly well; and if
the people are disposed to awake out of their lethargy and walk up to
their religion, to their duty, to the highest privilege that ever was or
ever can be granted to mortal man upon this earth, which is eternal life,
and will do so, then we will be brethren. And if not, the thread must be
severed, for I cannot hold men and women in fellowship that serve the
devil and themselves, and give no heed to the Almighty; I cannot do it.
This people have been taught a great deal; they have had principle
and doctrine fed to them till they are surfeited; and where is the man,
the officer, or the community, that understands what has been taught them?
There may be one here and there that understands, but generally the eyes
of the people are closed upon eternal things, and they seek for that which
pleases the eye, that which is in accordance with the lusts of the flesh,
that which is full of iniquity, and they care not for the righteousness of
our God.
I repeat that, as for [sic] as those who are disposed to refrain from
their evils, to renew their covenants and live their religion, I will have
the honor and you the privilege of going forth and renewing your
covenants, otherwise their must be a separation. Let those who have been
with us ten or fifteen years, who have passed through the sorrowful scenes
that Joseph and many others who have gone behind the vail had to wade
through, look back and see the hand of God that has led us to a land where
we enjoy liberty, where we enjoy all the freedom that ever the city of
Enoch enjoyed, until they were more perfectly made acquainted with God.
All that we can enjoy more than we do, unless we further acquaint
ourselves with our God and become His friends and His associates, will be
but very little more than we now possess.
I tell you that this people will not be suffered to walk as they have
walked, to do as they have done, to live as they have lived. God will
have a reckoning with us ere long, and we must refrain from our evils and
turn to the Lord our God, or He will come out in judgment against us. I
refer to the doctrine and the teachings that have been laid before this
people; and I will say that it would take me weeks and months to tell you
what has been already told you. But it passes into your ears and out
again, and is no more remembered.
Show me the man who knows enough about his God, and is sufficiently
acquainted with the principle of eternal lives to be able to say, "I can
handle the gold and the silver, the goods, the chattels, and the
possessions of this world, with my heart not more set upon them than it is
upon the wind. I know how to use them, to deal out this and to distribute
that, and to do all to the glory of my Father in heaven." If there is one
in this congregation that knows how to do all this, will you please to
rise up? These are things that I have taught you week after week, and
year after year, but do you understand them? No. You may say, with
shamefacedness, that there is hardly a man in this congregation that can
righteously manage even earthly things. Just as quick as you are
prospered you are lost to the Lord, you are filled with darkness.
Do you think the angels of the Lord lust after the things that are
before them? All heaven is before us, and all this earth, the gold and
the silver, all these are at our command, and shall we lust after them?
They are all within our reach; they are for the Saints whom God loves,
even all who fix their minds upon Him and the interests of His kingdom.
Our Father possesses all the riches of eternity, and all those riches are
vouchsafed unto us, and yet we lust after them.
I have taught you these things weeks and months ago, and yet there is
not a man or woman in this congregation that understands them in their
fulness. These are simple principles that should be learned; and although
they have been taught you from time to time, yet you have not learned
them. And for me to repeat to you what I have taught you, and what my
brethren have taught you, would take me weeks.
And notwithstanding all that has been taught, still the people are
full of idolatry, the spirit of contention and the spirit of the world are
in them, and they are full of the things of the world.
Well, I just say, my brethren and sisters, it cannot be suffered any
longer, a separation must take place; you must part with your sins, or the
righteous must be separated from the ungodly. I will now give way, and
call upon others of the brethren to speak to you. Amen.
THE PEOPLE OF GOD DISCIPLINED BY TRIALS--ATONEMENT BY THE
SHEDDING OF BLOOD--OUR HEAVENLY FATHER--A PRIVILEGE GIVEN TO ALL
THE MARRIED SISTERS IN UTAH.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, September 21, 1856.
Before I sit down, I shall offer a proposition to the congregation;
though I will first say a few words concerning our religion, our
circumstances, and the circumstances of the brethren and people generally
that inhabit these valleys, but more especially of those that have the
privilege of assembling at this Tabernacle from Sabbath to Sabbath.
If they will rightly consider their situation, they will believe for
themselves that they are in a place, in a country, where they can be
Saints as well as in any other place there is on the face of this earth.
True, we hear some complaints from those who lose the spirit of their
religion, who turn away from us. They think that this people will suffer
here. I will give you my feelings upon the subject.
There is not a hardship, there is not a disappointment, there is not
a trial, there is not a hard time, that comes upon this people in this
place, but that I am more thankful for than I am for full granaries.
We have been hunting during the past twenty-six years, for a place
where we could raise Saints, not merely wheat, and corn. Comparatively I
care but little about the wheat and corn, though a little is very useful.
It is true that this is a good country for fruits of some kinds; this
soil produces, as good peaches as can be raised on any soil, and also
grapes, apples, and so on. But what of all that? The man, or the woman,
that mainly looks after the fruit, after the luxuries of life, good food,
fine apparel, and at the same time professes to be a Latter-day Saint, if
he does not get that spirit out of his heart, it will obtain a perfect
victory over him; whereas he is required to obtain a victory over his
lusts and over his unwise feelings; and if he does not get rid of that
spirit, the quicker he starts east for the States, or west for California,
the better.
If we could not raise any fruit, if we could not raise an ear of
corn, I should be quite thankful if we could raise the oats and the peas,
and make the oat bread and the pea broth, and live on them from year to
year.
I say hallelujah, this is a first-rate place to raise Saints. Let
the people complain of hard times, complain of their poverty, their poor
fare and their hard labor; that wood is scarce, that we have to go far for
it, and have to toil so hard to raise our grain; that we lose our stock
upon the prairie, that a cow is gone to-day, and an ox was lost last year;
that if we turn out our cattle they will stray off, and we shall see them
no more.
How would you feel were you in a country where you could not raise
stock, except you provided comfortable shelter and an abundance of fodder
for them all?
In the country where I was brought up, could you turn out a calf in
the fall and have it live through the winter? There never was such a
thing done, to my knowledge; and no man ever thought of such a thing as
wintering a calf, unless he had a shelter prepared for it almost as warm
as the rooms for the children.
I mention these things for the benefit of those here to-day, if any,
who think that this is not a good country, and who do not really know
whether they wish to stay, or whether we are right or wrong, or whether
"Mormonism" is true or false.
I would advise those persons to repent of their sins forthwith, and
to try with all their might to get the spirit of their religion upon them,
and if they cannot do that, to take their own course and go where their
hearts desire, for doubtless there is some place where you would wish to
go.
Those that have the Gospel, who enjoy the Spirit of their religion,
lie down in peace, and wake up full of rejoicing, full of peace, of glory,
of faith and thanksgiving; this is the case with all who are full of good
works.
We need a reformation in the midst of this people; we need a thorough
reform, for I know that very many are in a dozy condition with regard to
their religion; I know this as well as I should if you were now to doze
and go to sleep before my eyes.
You are losing the spirit of the Gospel, is there any cause for it?
No, only that which there is in the world. You have the weakness of human
nature to contend with, and you suffer that weakness to decoy you away
from the truth, to the side of the adversary; but now it is time to awake,
before the time of burning.
Whether the time of burning will be this week, or the next, or next
year, I do not know that I care; and I do not know that I would ask, if I
was sure the Lord would tell me. But I tell you that which I do know, and
that is sufficient.
I do know that the trying day will soon come to you and to me; and
ere long we will have to lay down these tabernacles and go into the spirit
world. And I do know that as we lie down, so judgment will find us, and
that is scriptural; "as the tree falls so it shall lie," or, in other
words, as death leaves us so judgment will find us.
I will explain how judgment will be laid to the line. If we all live
to the age of man the end thereof will soon be here, and that will burn
enough, without anything else; and the present is a day of trial, enough
for you and me.
We have got to be rightly prepared to go into the spirit world, in
order to become kings. That is, so far as the power of Satan is concerned
you and I have got to be free from his power, but we cannot be while we
are in the flesh.
Here we shall be perplexed and hunted by him; but when we go into the
spirit world there we are masters over the power of satan, and he cannot
afflict us any more, and this is enough for me to know.
Whether the world is going to be burned up within a year, or within a
thousand years, does not matter a groat to you and me. We have the words
of eternal life, we have the privilege of obtaining glory, immortality,
and eternal lives, now will you obtain these blessings?
Will you spend your lives to obtain a seat in the kingdom of God, or
will you lie down and sleep, and go down to hell?
I want all the people to say what they will do, and I know that God
wishes all His servants, all His faithful sons and daughters, the men and
the women that inhabit this city, to repent of their wickedness, or we
will cut them off.
I could give you a logical reason for all the transgressions in this
world, for all that are committed in this probationary state, and
especially for those committed by men.
There are sins that men commit for which they cannot receive
forgiveness in this world, or in that which is to come, and if they had
their eyes open to see their true condition, they would be perfectly
willing to have their blood spilt upon the ground, that the smoke thereof
might ascend to heaven as an offering for their sins; and the smoking
incense would atone for their sins, whereas, if such is not the case, they
will stick to them and remain upon them in the spirit world.
I know, when you hear my brethren telling about cutting people off
from the earth, that you consider it is strong doctrine; but it is to save
them, not to destroy them.
Of all the children of Israel that started to pass through the
wilderness, none inherited the land which had been promised, except Caleb
and Joshua, and what was the reason? It was because of their rebellion
and wickedness; and because the Lord had promised Abraham that he would
save his seed.
They had to travel to and fro to every point to the compass, and were
wasted away, because God was determined to save their spirits. But they
could not enter into His rest in the flesh, because of their
transgressions, consequently He destroyed them in the wilderness.
I do know that there are sins committed, of such a nature that if the
people did understand the doctrine of salvation, they would tremble
because of their situation. And furthermore, I know that there are
transgressors, who, if they knew themselves, and the only condition upon
which they can obtain forgiveness, would beg of their brethren to shed
their blood, that the smoke thereof might ascend to God as an offering to
appease the wrath that is kindled against them, and that the law might
have its course. I will say further; I have had men come to me and offer
their lives to atone for their sins.
It is true that the blood of the Son of God was shed for sins through
the fall and those committed by men, yet men can commit sins which it can
never remit. As it was in ancient days, so it is in our day; and though
the principles are taught publicly from this stand, still the people do
not understand them; yet the law is precisely the same. There are sins
that can be atoned for by an offering upon an altar, as in ancient days;
and there are sins that the blood of a lamb, of a calf, or of turtle
doves, cannot remit, but they must be atoned for by the blood of the man.
That is the reason why men talk to you as they do from this stand; they
understand the doctrine and throw out a few words about it. You have been
taught that doctrine, but you do not understand it.
It is our desire to be prepared for a celestial seat with our Father
in heaven. It was observed by brother Grant that we have not seen God,
that we cannot converse with Him; and it is true that men in their sins do
not know much about God. When you hear a man pour out eternal things, how
well you feel, to what a nearness you seem to be brought with God. What a
delight it was to hear brother Joseph talk upon the great principles of
eternity; he would bring them down to the capacity of a child, and he
would unite heaven with earth, this is the beauty of our religion.
When it was mentioned this morning about seeing God, about what kind
of a being He was, and how we could see and measurably understand Him, I
thought I would tell you. If we could see our heavenly Father, we should
see a being similar to our earthly parent, with this difference, our
Father in heaven is exalted and glorified. He has received His thrones,
His principalities and powers, and He sits as a governor, as a monarch,
and overrules kingdoms, thrones, and dominions that have been bequeathed
to Him, and such as we anticipate receiving. While He was in the flesh,
as we are, He was as we are. But it is now written of Him that our God is
as a consuming fire, that He dwells in everlasting burnings, and this is
why sin cannot be where He is.
There are principles that will endure through all eternity, and no
fire can obliterate them from existence. They are those principles that
are pure, and fire is made typical use of to show the glory and purity of
the gods, and of all perfect beings. God is the Father of our spirits; He
begat them, and has sent them here to receive tabernacles, and to prove
whether we will honour them. If we do, then our tabernacles will be
exalted; but if we do not, we shall be destroyed; one of the
two--dissolution or life. The second death will decompose all tabernacles
over whom it gains the ascendancy; and this is the effect of the second
death, the tabernacles go back to their native element.
We are of the earth, earthy; and our Father is heavenly and pure.
But we will be glorified and purified, if we obey our brethren and the
teachings which are given.
When you see celestial beings, you will see men and women, but you
will see those beings clothed upon with robes of celestial purity. We
cannot bear the presence of our Father now; and we are placed at a
distance to prove whether we will honor these tabernacles, whether we will
be obedient and prepare ourselves to live in the glory of the light,
privileges, and blessings of celestial beings. We could not have the
glory and the light without first knowing the contrast. Do you comprehend
that we could have no exaltation, without first learning by contrast?
When you are prepared to see our Father, you will see a being with
whom you have long been acquainted, and He will receive you into His arms,
and you will be ready to fall into His embrace and kiss Him, as you would
your fathers and friends that have been dead for a score of years, you
will be so glad and joyful. Would you not rejoice? When you are
qualified and purified, so that you can endure the glory of eternity, so
that you can see your Father, and your friends who have gone behind the
vail, you will fall upon their necks and kiss them, as we do an earthly
friend that has been long absent from us, and that we have been anxiously
desiring to see. This is the people that are and will be permitted to
enjoy the society of those happy and exalted beings.
Now for my proposition; it is more particularly for my sisters, as it
is frequently happening that women say they are unhappy. Men will say,
"My wife, though a most excellent woman, has not seen a happy day since I
took my second wife;" "No, not a happy day for a year," says one; and
another has not seen a happy day for five years. It is said that women
are tied down and abused: that they are misused and have not the liberty
they ought to have; that many of them are wading through a perfect flood
of tears, because of the conduct of some men, together with their own
folly.
I wish my own women to understand that what I am going to say is for
them as well as others, and I want those who are here to tell their
sisters, yes, all the women of this community, and then write it back to
the States, and do as you please with it. I am going to give you from
this time to the 6th day of October next, for reflection, that you may
determine whether you wish to stay with your husbands or not, and then I
am going to set every woman at liberty and say to them, Now go your way,
my women with the rest, go your way. And my wives have got to do one of
two things; either round up their shoulders to endure the afflictions of
this world, and live their religion, or they may leave, for I will not
have them about me. I will go into heaven alone, rather than have
scratching and fighting around me. I will set all at liberty. "What,
first wife too?" Yes, I will liberate you all.
I know what my women will say; they will say, "You can have as many
women as you please, Brigham." But I want to go somewhere and do
something to get rid of the whiners; I do not want them to receive a part
of the truth and spurn the rest out of doors.
I wish my women, and brother Kimball's and brother Grant's to leave,
and every woman in this Territory, or else say in their hearts that they
will embrace the Gospel--the whole of it. Tell the Gentiles that I will
free every woman in this Territory at our next Conference. "What, the
first wife too?" Yes, there shall not be one held in bondage, all shall
be set free. And then let the father be the head of the family, the
master of his own household; and let him treat them as an angel would
treat them; and let the wives and the children say amen to what he says,
and be subject to his dictates, instead of their dictating the man,
instead of their trying to govern him.
No doubt some are thinking, "I wish brother Brigham would say what
would become of the children." I will tell you what my feelings are; I
will let my wives take the children, and I have property enough to support
them, and can educate them, and then give them a good fortune, and I can
take a fresh start.
I do not desire to keep a particle of my property, except enough to
protect me from a state of nudity. And I would say, wives you are welcome
to the children, only do not teach them iniquity; for if you do, I will
send an Elder, or come myself, to teach them the Gospel. You teach them
life and salvation, or I will send Elders to instruct them.
Let every man thus treat his wives, keeping raiment enough to clothe
his body; and say to your wives, "Take all that I have and be set at
liberty; but if you stay with me you shall comply with the law of God, and
that too without any murmuring and whining. You must fulfil the law of
God in every respect, and round up your shoulders to walk up to the mark
without any grunting."
Now recollect that two weeks from to morrow I am going to set you at
liberty. But the first wife will say, "It is hard, for I have lived with
my husband twenty years, or thirty, and have raised a family of children
for him, and it is a great trial to me for him to have more women;" then I
say it is time that you gave him up to other women who will bear children.
If my wife had borne me all the children that she ever would bare, the
celestial law would teach me to take young women that would have children.
Do you understand this? I have told you many times that there are
multitudes of pure and holy spirits waiting to take tabernacles, now what
is our duty?--to prepare tabernacles for them; to take a course that will
not tend to drive those spirits into the families of the wicked, where
they will be trained in wickedness, debauchery, and every species of
crime. It is the duty of every righteous man and woman to prepare
tabernacles for all the spirits they can; hence if my women leave, I will
go and search up others who will abide the celestial law, and let all I
now have go where they please; though I will send the Gospel to them.
This is the reason why the doctrine of plurality of wives was
revealed, that the noble spirits which are waiting for tabernacles might
be brought forth.
If the men of the world were right, or if they were anywhere near
right, there might not be the necessity which there now is. But they are
wholly given up to idolatry, and to all manner of wickedness.
Do I think that my children will be damned? No, I do not, for I am
going to fight the devil until I save them all; I have got my sword ready,
and it is a two-edged one. I have not a fear about that, for I would
almost be ashamed of my body if it would beget a child that would not
abide the law of God, though I may have some unruly children.
I am going to ask you a good many things, and to begin with I will
ask, what is your prayer? Do you not ask for the righteous to increase,
while the unrighteous shall decrease and dwindle away? Yes, that is the
prayer of every person that prays at all. The Methodists pray for it, the
Baptists pray for it, and the Church of England and all the reformers, the
Shaking Quakers not excepted. And if the women belonging to this Church
will turn Shaking Quakers, I think their sorrows will soon be at an end.
Sisters, I am not joking, I do not throw out my proposition to banter
your feelings, to see whether you will leave your husbands, all or any of
you. But I do know that there is no cessation to the everlasting whining
of many of the women in this Territory; I am satisfied that this is the
case. And if the women will turn from the commandments of God and
continue to despise the order of heaven, I will pray that the curse of the
Almighty may be close to their heels, and that it may be following them
all the day long. And those that enter into it and are faithful, I will
promise them that they shall be queens in heaven, and rulers to all
eternity.
"But," says one, "I want to have my paradise now." And says another,
"I did think I should be in paradise if I was sealed to brother Brigham,
and I thought I should be happy when I became his wife, or brother
Heber's. I loved you so much, that I thought I was going to have a heaven
right off, right here on the spot.
What a curious doctrine it is, that we are preparing to enjoy! The
only heaven for you is that which you make yourselves. My heaven is
here--[laying his hand upon his heart]. I carry it with me. When do I
expect it in its perfection? When I come up in the resurrection; then I
shall have it, and not till then.
But now we have got to fight the good fight of faith, sword in hand,
as much so as men have when they go to battle; and it is one continual
warfare from morning to evening, with sword in hand. This is my duty, and
this is my life.
But the women come and say, "Really brother John, and brother
William, I thought you were going to make a heaven for me," and they get
into trouble because a heaven is not made for them by the men, even though
agency is upon women as well as upon men. True there is a curse upon the
woman that is not upon the man, namely, that "her whole affections shall
be towards her husband," and what is the next? "He shall rule over you."
But how is it now? Your desire is to your husband, but you strive to
rule over him, whereas the man should rule over you.
Some may ask whether that is the case with me; go to my house and
live, and then you will learn that I am very kind, but know how to rule.
If I had only wise men to talk to, there would be no necessity for my
saying what I am going to say. Many and many an Elder knows no better
than to go home and abuse as good a woman as dwells upon this earth,
because of what I have said this afternoon. Are you, who act in that way,
fit to have a family? No, you are not, and never will be, until you get
good common sense.
Then you can go to work and magnify your callings; and you can do the
best you know how; and on that ground I will promise you salvation, but
upon no other principle.
If I were talking to a people that understood themselves and the
doctrine of the holy Gospel, there would be no necessity for saying this,
because you would understand. But many have been (what shall I say?
pardon me, brethren,) hen-pecked so much, that they do not know the place
of either man or woman; they abuse and rule a good woman with an iron
hand. With them it is as Solomon said--"Bray a fool in a mortar among
wheat, with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him." You
may talk to them about their duties, about what is required of them, and
still they are fools, and will continue to be.
Prepare yourselves for two weeks from to morrow; and I will tell you
now, that if you will tarry with your husbands, after I have set you free,
you must bow down to it, and submit yourselves to the celestial law. You
may go where you please, after two weeks from to-morrow; but, remember,
that I will not hear any more of this whining.
In the midst of all my harsh sayings, shall I say chastisements?--I
am disposed, in my heart, to bless this people; and I do bless you, in the
name of Jesus. Amen.
THE HAND-CART EMIGRATION--OPINIONS OF THE EMIGRANTS CONCERNING
IT--FEMALES ENDURE THE JOURNEY BETTER THAN MALES, ETC.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, September 28, 1856.
I think it is now proven to a certainty that men, women, and children
can cross the Plains, from the settlements on the Missouri river to this
place on foot, and draw hand-carts, loaded with a good portion of the
articles needed to sustain them on the way.
To me this is no more a matter of fact this morning, after seeing the
companies that have crossed the Plains, than it was years ago. I have no
different knowledge, feelings, or faith, upon this subject to-day than I
have had from the beginning. It has been a matter of doubt with many of
our Elders who have gone out to preach, and with many who have staid at
home, as to the propriety of starting a train upon the Plains for men,
women, and children to walk.
Probably my faith has been based upon actual knowledge. There are a
great many men who know but little about what they can do, and there are a
great many women that never consider what they can perform; people do not
fully reflect upon their own acts, upon their own ability, and therefore
do not understand what they are capable of doing.
My reasoning has been like this: Take small children, those that are
over five years of age, and if their steps were counted and measured,
those that they take in the course of one day, you would find that they
had taken enough to have traveled from twelve to twenty miles.
Count the steps that a woman takes when she is doing her work, let
them be measured, and it will be found that in many instances she had
taken steps enough to have traveled from fifteen to twenty miles a day; I
will warrant this to be the case. The steps of women who spin would, in
all probability, make from twenty to thirty miles a day.
So with men, they do not consider the steps they make when they are
at their labor; they are all the time walking. Even our masons upon the
walls are all the time stepping; they take a step almost at every breath.
Many people have believed that they could not walk much of a
distance, if they had to walk right along in a road, but this is not so.
Our carpenters, joiners, masons, tenders, road makers, tillers of the
soil, and persons of almost all avocations in life, men, women, and
children, are subject to continual travel. These things I have
contemplated, and I have seen walking put into practise.
The longest journey on foot that ever I took at one time was in the
year 1834, when a company of the brethren went up to Missouri, the next
season after the Saints were driven out of Jackson County. Many in this
congregation, and some on the stand, were in that company; brother Kimball
and brother Woodruff were in it. We performed a journey of two thousand
miles on foot; we started on the 5th day of May, and accomplished that
journey inside of three months, carrying our guns on our shoulders, doing
our own cooking, &c. And instead of walking along without having to
labor, much of the way we had to draw our baggage wagons through mud holes
and over sections of bad road. Twenty or thirty men would take hold and
draw a wagon up a hill, or through a mud hole; and it was seldom that I
ever laid down to rest until eleven or twelve o'clock at night, and we
always rose very early in the morning, I think the horn was blown at three
o'clock to arouse us, to prepare breakfast, &c. and get an early start;
and we averaged in the outward trip upwards of forty miles a day.
If we laid by a day, or half a day, we generally calculated to make
the travel of the week average forty miles a day.
We spent considerable time in waiting upon the sick; and some days
and nights the brethren who were able, were standing over the sick and
dying, and burying the dead; we buried eighteen of the company.
Notwithstanding all this, inside of three months we walked about two
thousand miles.
I am not a good walker, though I have walked a great deal in the
course of my life, but it is not natural to me to be a great walker. I
have walked much during my missions to preach the Gospel; and we have many
in this congregation who have walked from twenty to thirty miles on a
Sabbath, after working hard all the week, and then preached two or three
times.
When I was in England I found that I was poor at walking, in
comparison with the females there. Brother Edmund Ellsworth, who has led
this first company of hand-carts over the Plains, says that the females
have stood the journey better than the males; taking the girls and the
boys of equal age, the men and the women, and the females have best
endured the travel.
In England I could walk comfortably with the men, but if the women
undertook, they could easily out do me in walking.
Our American women think it strange to advance such an idea as
women's walking. I will refer you to one individual that many of you
know, and that is sister Turley, who now lives in San Bernardino; after
working hard all the week, she and her husband frequently used to walk
twenty or thirty miles on the Sabbath, and attend three meetings.
There are many in this congregation that used to walk and preach, and
some of them did so on week days as well as on Sabbaths.
True, in those old countries people are not in the habit of taking
journeys of hundreds of miles as the Americans do, but they walk through
their towns and counties, throughout their circuits, and walk a great deal
more and better than do the Americans.
The common people, the masses that work in the factories, do not own
teams in the old countries, and if they wish to visit or go to a fair,
they go on foot. If they should get any way of conveyance to places where
the railroads have not yet reached, they hire a cart, or perhaps a wagon
on springs, and six, eight, twelve, or twenty persons will get in and ride
for a few miles; but that is only for the sake of the name of riding, and
not particularly for the comfort of it, for they would, as a general
thing, rather foot it than ride in many of their modes of conveyance.
To the American this seems strange; but you may go into Scotland and
Wales, and then cross to the little island called Ireland, and then to
France and the German States, and pass on to Italy, and you will find the
generality of the people in the habit of performing their journeys on
foot, not depending upon being conveyed in vehicles.
They are in the habit of working and walking, and their toils and
lobors [sic] are very excessive, and apparently without cessation. Go
into the mountainous regions of some of those old countries, and you will
see men, women, and children packing soil, like it would be to take it
from the banks of Jordan and carry it half way up the sides of these
mountains, and, when they can get one, two, or three rods of level
surface, making their gardens upon the rocks.
They will take cows up to such places, and pack up fodder, and there
keep them, for they are not able to go down and feed and return again the
same day.
They will walk on the brinks of precipices, clamber around the rocks,
pack up the soil from the bottoms, and thus make a subsistence, raising a
few potatoes and whatever vegetables they can, and there they live summer
and winter; they are all the time toiling and laboring.
In many districts of England, it is the custom to put children into
factories at five years of age, and there they remain so long as they
live. Children from five years old and upwards, will go for miles to
their labor early in the morning, winter and summer, and must be at the
factory at factory time, and there they must stand upon their feet until
they are dismissed for half an hour, or an hour, to eat their breakfast,
or their dinner, and all the rest of the time they are upon their feet.
They are used to labor, accustomed to being on their feet and walking.
We have not yet had a report from any of the brethren who have led
the hand-cart companies, with regard to their traveling across the Plains,
any more than to say they are here. I think brother Ellsworth says that
seven persons died in his company, between here and Iowa City. How many
died in the companies last year? How many will die in the companies who
ride? Double that number, very likely. As for health, it is far
healthier to walk than to ride, and better every way for the people. When
they get up in the morning, instead of wearying the women with running
through the long grass hunting the oxen, &c., they are there in camp, and
if they wish to do any walking, they can take hold of their little hand
carts and go on about their business. when they come to sandy hills, it
is then no doubt hard. (Voice, they can then double teams.) Yes, they
can easily double teams, for they are right on hand all the time.
The hand-carts look rather broken up, but if they had been made of
good seasoned timber, they would have come in as nice as when they started
with them. True, the brethren and sisters that came in with hand-carts
have eaten up their provisions, and some have hired their clothing
brought, and they had but little on their carts when they came in.
They also started with full loads, and I presume it was hard for them
at first, but they became inured to it. And yesterday I heard many of
them, and especially the women, observing to some of the sisters that came
to see them, while they were questioning them about their journey across
the Plains on foot, "that if we had the journey to perform again, and had
our choice, we would go on foot rather than go with teams, and be plagued
with oxen and wagons." Why, I will answer one query, "We have not time to
wait for oxen and wagons."
The hand-cart companies that have come in, had a few strong teams
with them, well able to travel, but the companies had to wait every day
for these teams, and they hindred [sic] them exceedingly. If this is not
so, let brother Ellsworth correct me; this is what I have heard some of
them say.
They could have been here ten days ago, perhaps twelve, had it not
been for waiting for the teams. If persons have a journey to perform and
can get at railroad speed with hand-carts, it is better than to drag along
with ox teams.
This is the subject I have on my mind, and I presume the people feel
as I do; it is an interesting subject, an interesting event in our history
as a people. There is nothing that can be brought before the Latter-day
Saints of deeper interest than to know how they can be gathered together,
without so great an expense as has hitherto attended the gathering.
We know that our sorrows and our cares in this particular are
measurably at an end if we can avoid buying teams and expensive outfits to
bring the people here. We have now proved that they can come pretty much
by themselves, working their way along and drawing their own provisions,
and also their little ones, and the maimed, and old, and blind. If any
way can be opened for the gathering together of the poor, it takes off a
great burden and labor from the body of the people.
It is an interesting subject, and my feelings are precisely as they
have been all the time. I have believed, and I believe to-day, that I can
take my own family, my women and children, across those Plains, asking no
odds of any team in the world, only what we make ourselves; and I believe
I could beat any ox train at it. I have always believed it, I believe it
to-day. I presume my family would feel, as others feel, that it is a hard
task, a great trial; who can bear such great afflictions? to have to walk
a thousand miles? Those who get into the Celestial Kingdom will count
this a very light task in the end, and if they have to walk thousands of
miles, they will feel themselves happy for the privilege, that they may
know how to enjoy celestial glory.
I recollect that in my young days, before I made any profession of
religion, when people were disposed to call me an infidel (though they did
not know what infidelity was) because I did not believe in the sectarian
religion, I could not see any utility in it, any further than a moral
character was concerned, yet I believed the Bible. I felt in those days,
after I had made a profession of religion, that if I could see the face of
a Prophet, such as had lived on the earth in former times, a man that had
revelations, to whom the heavens were opened, who knew God and His
character, I would freely circumscribe the earth on my hands and knees; I
thought that there was no hardship but what I would undergo, if I could
see one person that knew what God is and where He is, what was His
character, and what eternity was; and I presume that the people feel with
regard to religion, to the doctrine of the Gospel, partially, if not
altogether, as I did. They are very anxious to know the ways of life,
they want to know the ways of God; they want to become acquainted with His
character, to know who He is and what He is. They want to understand just
as they are directed to understand in the New Testament, and said to be
the words of the Savior, "this is eternal life, to know the only living
and true God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent." To know that God, and
to know Jesus, the people who wish to do right are willing to undergo
anything. Those that gather here, if they will do the best they know,
will know God, and Jesus whom He has sent, and be as familiar with Him as
they can be with any character whose face they see not; they can know His
character and understand His ways.
I shall now give way, and call upon brother Ellsworth to address you;
and if any of the other brethren who have been called upon to come to the
stand, are in the congregation, they will please come forward, for it is
of great interest to me, to learn something of the travels of our brethren
and sisters.
DISCORD AT MEETINGS REBUKED--A TEXT FOR SPEAKERS AT THE
CONFERENCE--SUBJECT
FOR THE PEOPLE--A CALL FOR MULES, HORSES, WAGONS, TEAMSTERS, FLOUR, ETC.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, October 5, 1856
I wish the most strict attention of the entire congregation, for if
there is walking and talking within and around this bowery, a great many
will not be able to hear. And I request those who wish to talk and
whisper, to remove so far that they will not disturb the congregation
to-day, nor during the Conference, as the assembly, undoubtedly, will be
very large.
If we could possibly build a bowery, or a tabernacle, that would
bring the people so near to us that we would not have to speak so loud, we
should certainly do it; but this we cannot do, for by the time that we
could build a tabernacle for seating fifteen thousand persons nearer the
speaker than are the outskirts of this congregation, the people would have
so increased, that we should just be as far from our object as now.
I shall require the people to be perfectly still, while they are here
and we are trying to speak to them. Let there be no talking, whispering,
nor shuffling of feet. It would be beneficial for mothers who have small
children here that will cry, to leave the bowery, if they cannot keep
their children still. I make this suggestion, in consequence of what has
passed.
I will say, in regard to the sisters who bring children here to make
a noise, they have never yet sufficiently thought, nor sufficiently
considered their own place in this world, nor the place of others, to know
that there is any other person living on the earth but themselves; and
they think, when they hear people talk, that it is a noise through a dark
veil. I cannot say much for the education, based on good feeling, that
such persons have. Were I to describe it in a plain way, I should say
that they are people of no breeding, that they were never bred but came
up; that is about as good a character as I can afford to give to any
mother that will keep a squalling child in a meeting. I have never said
to the congregation, look and see who they are, for you may distinguish by
your ears, without looking, the mothers that have had good teaching and
been brought up in a civilized society.
So it is with some men; and to the disgrace of some of our police, I
will state that in Conference times, and when we have unusually large
assemblies, they will converse right in the congregation, and just on the
outside, disturbing the meeting. I would that we had a police that
understood good breeding. If the police want to know how to manage to
keep order, notwithstanding I have frequently told them, I will now tell
them again. Instead of shouting "silence," go and touch the unruly
person.
Were I a policeman I would follow a practice of my father's; it used
to be a word and a blow, with him, but the blow came first. I should act
upon that plan, when persons are holding caucus meetings in or about our
congregations; and if they would not desist, I would rap them hard enough
for them to take the hint without my speaking.
I make these remarks, because I wish the brethren who will speak to
you to-day, the Elders who have lately returned, to be heard. Those who
speak in large assemblies understand that they often have to raise their
voices as though they were giving commands to a large army, but we expect
our Elders will speak as they have been in the habit of doing. If they
can raise their voices above the crying of children and the talking and
whispering of the people, so that all can hear, it will be well; but this
we cannot expect.
To-morrow our semi-annual Conference commences, and I notice that
many have come in from a distance. We shall have large congregations
during the Conference, and we wish perfect order maintained.
I will now give this people the subject and the text for the Elders
who may speak to-day and during the Conference, it is this, on the 5th day
of October, 1856, many of our brethren and sisters are on the Plains with
hand-carts, and probably many are now seven hundred miles from this place,
and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them. The text
will be--to get them here! I want the brethren who may speak to
understand that their text is the people on the Plains, and the subject
matter for this community is to send for them and bring them in before the
winter sets in.
That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I
possess, it is to save the people. We must bring them in from the Plains,
and when we get them here, we will try to keep the same spirit that we
have had, and teach them the way of life and salvation; tell them how they
can be saved, and how they can save their friends. This is the salvation
I am now seeking for, to save our brethren that would be apt to perish, or
suffer extremely, if we do not send them assistance.
I shall call upon the Bishops this day, I shall not wait until
to-morrow, nor until next day, for sixty good mule teams and twelve or
fifteen wagons. I do not want to send oxen, I want good horses and mules.
They are in this Territory, and we must have them; also twelve tons of
flour and forty good teamsters, besides those that drive the teams. This
is dividing my text into heads; first, forty good young men who know how
to drive teams, to take charge of the teams that are now managed by men,
women, and children who know nothing about driving them; second, sixty or
sixty-five good spans of mules, or horses, with harness, whipple-trees,
neck-yokes, stretchers, load chains, &c.; and, thirdly, twenty-four
thousand pounds of flour, which we have on hand.
I will repeat the division; forty extra teamsters is number one;
sixty spans of mules or horses is part of number two; twelve tons of
flour, and wagons to take it, is number three; and, fourthly, I will allow
the brethren to tell something about their missions, by way of exhortation
to wind up with.
I will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of
religion, will never save one soul of you in the celestial kingdom of our
God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching you.
Go and bring in those people now on the Plains, and attend strictly to
those things which we call temporal, or temporal duties, otherwise your
faith will be in vain; the preaching you have heard will be in vain to
you, and you will sink to hell, unless you attend to the things we tell
you. Any man or woman can reason this out in their own minds, without
trouble. The Gospel has been already preached to those brethren and
sisters now on the Plains; they have believed and obeyed it, and are
willing to do anything for salvation; they are doing all they can do, and
the Lord has done all that is required of Him to do, and has given us
power to bring them in from the Plains, and teach them the further things
of the kingdom of God, and prepare them to enter into the celestial
kingdom of their Father. First and foremost is to secure our own
salvation and do right pertaining to ourselves, and then extend the hand
of right to save others.
I have given you my text and the subject, and shall give way to the
brethren, and request close attention, and that there be no noise; for I
realize that men who go forth to preach are in the habit of speaking to
small congregations, in small halls, where all can hear without much
elevation of the voice. This cannot be done here, for we have to shout,
and exercise our lungs to the utmost, to make so many people hear.
I am satisfied that the prayer by brother Spencer was not heard by
one-third of the congregation this morning; a little moving of the feet, a
little whispering, the noise occasioned by mothers' trying to keep their
children still, a little noise of this kind and a little of that, all tend
to break the sound of the speaker's voice, and the people cannot catch his
words, and of course are not edified. May the Lord bless us all. Amen.
REFORMATION NECESSARY AMONG THE SAINTS.--INFIDEL PHILOSOPHY.
A Discourse, by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, November 2, 1856.
I am very thankful for the privilege that I enjoy this morning, with
so many of the Latter-day Saints. I am thankful that we have the
privilege of assembling here to worship the Lord in so comfortable a
building, and in quite a moderate climate. I am happy for the privilege
of addressing the Saints, and I could hope with all my heart, that I may
never be called upon to address any other class of people; still, the
Gospel must be preached to the world, that the wicked may be left without
excuse. We have done a great deal of preaching and talking to persons
that knew nothing of the Gospel of salvation, and I have occupied many
years in trying to lay before the inhabitants of the earth the principles
of life and salvation, until, through the providence of God, I have been
called to other duties than to mingle or associate with those who would
not believe and practise the Gospel. Still, I should have been more than
satisfied, had my duty led me in a path to associate, more or less, with
unbelievers, for I can say that I would rather preach to them, would
rather associate with them, would rather take my chance among a people who
have never heard the Gospel preached at all, than to live in the midst of
the ungodly. The term ungodly conveys an idea to my mind, perhaps, that
it does not to all present, for it is a fact that a man or woman must know
the ways of God before they can become ungodly. Persons may be sinners,
may be unrighteous, may be wicked, who have never heard the plan of
salvation, who are even unacquainted with the history of the Son of Man,
or who have heard of the name of the Savior, and, perhaps, the history of
his life while on the earth, but have been taught unbelief through their
tradition and education; but to be ungodly, in the strict sense of the
word, they must measurably understand godliness.
It is lamentable to any person who understands by the visions of
eternity the plan of salvation, the providences of God to His creatures,
to see one who has his mind opened to see, understand, and embrace the
principles of life and salvation in his faith, and who has the privilege
of being adopted into the family of heaven, of becoming an heir with the
Saints that have formerly lived upon the earth, an heir with the Prophets
and with Jesus Christ, and of being numbered with the children of the Most
High, with a legal administrator to officiate for the attainment of all
these privileges, and to open the door of salvation and admittance into
the kingdom, neglect so great a salvation. But for any of this people who
enjoy the privilege of seeking unto the Lord their God, of being made
acquainted with the ways of life and salvation, to procure to themselves
an eternal exaltation, who have the privilege of preparing themselves to
dwell with Christ in the presence of their Father and their God, of being
joint heirs with Christ, and with all the Holy Ones that have lived, to
turn from those holy commandments, to cease or neglect performing every
duty made known to them, and to let the gay and giddy fancies of this life
entangle their feelings, and draw them from the principles of eternal
salvation, is most astonishing to me, or to any person that ever had the
vision of their minds opened.
Every principle of philosophy that is known upon the face of the
earth, every argument and reason that can be adduced, would prove that
such a man or woman was taking a course destructive to themselves; that
they were blindfolding themselves by shutting their own eyes, and,
literally speaking, rushing to a precipice from whose verge they would be
dashed to pieces. It is most astonishing to every principle of
intelligence that any man or woman will close their eyes upon eternal
things after they have been made acquainted with them, and let the gay
things of this world, the lusts of the eye, and the lusts of the flesh,
entangle their minds and draw them one hair's breadth from the principles
of life.
True there are many in the world who profess to be what we call
infidels, who have no knowledge of anything beyond the researches of their
education, who have not the faculty to pry into and understand things
beyond what they can see with their natural eyes, hear with their ears, or
comprehend with their natural understandings; yet there are but few that
are really left indeed in the dark, left to be in reality what they
profess to be. And those few have not one particle of good sound reason,
not one argument on their side, to prove that a licentious, ungodly life
is of any advantage to any person on the earth, but will argue the point,
and that strenuously, that strict morality should be observed among all
intelligences, and an honest bearing, an upright walk, and a gentlemanly
conversation, not giving way to vulgarity and foul language, nor doing
anything in the dark that they would not be willing to be scanned in
daylight. For all this they argue strenuously, and yet say that they know
nothing about God and eternity. We are here, we exist on the earth. I am
sure that I am alive, for I can see others living. I am endowed with a
certain degree of intelligence, where did it come from? An infidel might
say, "I do not know." Where did I originate? "I do not know." Who was
the maker and former of all we can see? "I do not know." Yet those very
characters will argue the necessity of a moral life, of an honest upright
walk, one with the other.
But what are their arguments and what are their hopes? Why, they
say, "We are to-day, to-morrow, perhaps, we shall be no more. We came
into existence, but how we cannot tell. We have no faith, or belief, or
confidence in the God that you Christians talk about; we have no
confidence in His providence; by chance we are, and by chance we shall go
and be no more." Do you not perceive that their arguments land them in
the vortex of ignorance and unbelief, of misery and annihilation? Go into
the world and observe those who do not possess principles that reach into
eternity, and that are in eternity, principles by which they exist and by
which God created all things, and you will see that those principles are
lost to them, and that, whether they believe in those principles or not,
their course and profession will land them without an existence, or the
possession of the least thing in heaven, earth, or hell.
These reflections bring to my understanding the greatest ignorance
that can be manifested by an inteligent [sic] people, those in particular
that are now before me, who have had the privilege of the holy Gospel and
neglected their duty, turned away from the holy commandments, and ceased
to live their religion in every point; such conduct does manifest the
greatest weakness, ignorance, foolery, and wickedness that can be produced
by intelligences. If you comprehend my ideas you will agree with me, for
no sensible man or woman can see the subject in any different light. If
we are here by chance, if we happened to slip into this world from
nothing, we shall soon slip out of this world to nothing, hence nothing
will remain; consequently we have nothing to gain or lose. But the man of
better judgment, of more sound reasoning, must know that every thing that
was, that is, or that will be, every thing that can be in all the
eternities in the vast expanse that we behold, must have had a Creator.
No principles exhibited to the human family will suggest that a book, a
bench, a house, a tree, or any growing or manufactured article, can be
produced without a producer. All we know, all we see, hear, and
understand, proves to us that there is no fabric without a constructor.
These reflections lead me to contrast the world with a people like
this before me, a people endowed with intelligence and a knowledge of
heavenly principles. That is our profession before the world, and is our
confession to God and angels, to all that have lived on the earth and that
are now on it; and you will hear the world exclaim, "You poor Mormons, you
Latter-day Saints that have left your homes, your houses, your friends,
your families, your possessions, the place of your birth, and every thing
that is near and dear to you, you say that the visions of your minds have
been opened, that you have had the visions of eternity opened to your
understanding, so that you do know that there is a God, that Jesus Christ
is the Savior of the world; so that you do know of the principles of life
and salvation proffered to you; and for these you have forsaken all and
gone to the mountains."
Of these things the whole world are witnesses against us and for us,
wherever the sound of this Gospel has been; and you can hardly find a nook
on the earth where the sound of it has not reached, for it has gone to the
uttermost parts of the earth, and hosts are witnesses of this. Yet all
acknowledge that you have something superior, that you have light and
intelligence that others do not enjoy; that God has opened up the heavens
to your minds, and taken away the vail from your understandings. And you
say that there is a God, that you understand His character, that He has
revealed Himself to you, and that you have left all and come to the
mountains, and what is the cry here? Why the people need reforming, there
is necessity for reformation.
"I am thankful," says one, "that I found the spirit of reformation
when I came home." What would an angel of the Lord say, if he came here,
or a devil either? "O, shame on these Latter-day Saints, it is a disgrace
to intelligence,. to your officers as Elders in Israel, to your
characters, to your names and beings on the earth, that you have had the
visions of eternity opened to you, and many have forsaken everything that
is near and dear to them by way of preparation for the Celestial kingdon
[sic], and now cry out the necessity of a reformation. It is most
astonishing." I will leave it to every man, woman, and child, if it does
not look strange. What! reformation? Yes, for in one sense we intend,
that is as knowledge comes to us, to reform daily. But shall the sound go
forth that we do not see and understand things as we did when in England,
in France, in Germany, in Denmark, in the East Indies, or anywhere else on
this earth? This sound goes forth, it is echoed by the angels into the
ears of our God and Father in eternity, and it is carried on the wings of
the wind over the earth, that the Latter-day Saints are digging and
toiling, going by sea and by land, traversing distances of thousands of
miles and circumscribing the earth to be with their brethren, and when
they get here they need reforming. Why? Because they have backslidden.
You may ask me whether there is a need of reformation. Yes; and if I
were to dictate you how to reform I should have to tell the old story over
again, as I already have hundreds of times. First, reform as to your
moral character, dealing, walk, precepts and examples. Reform first
morally, before you get down before the Lord and plead with Him for the
visions of eternity to be opened to your understandings, before you ask
for the vail to be taken from your eyes. First reform in your moral
character and conduct one towards another, so that every man and woman
will deal honestly, and walk uprightly with one another, and extend the
arm of charity and benevolence to each other, as necessity requires. Be
moral and strictly honest in every point, before you ask God to reform
your spirit.
If the people in their present situation and mode of dealing in this
city, to say nothing of those out of the city, all go to work now and have
meetings and call upon God to get the spirit of reformation, but sing and
pray about doing right without doing it, instead of singing themselves
away to "everlasting bliss," they will sing and pray themselves into hell,
shouting hallelujah. You cannot be saved by any other principle than that
of the holy Gospel; and if you live in the neglect of the performance of
the duties that you know are required at your hands, if you do not walk
uprightly before God and your brethren, if you do not deal justly with one
another, if you do not walk in honesty and soberness with one another,
your faith is vain and your reformation is vain. You must repent of your
evil deeds and first of all morally reform yourselves, before you can ask
God for His Spirit to reform and enlighten your spirits. This is my
doctrine and philosophy; were it not, I would say, let those who steal,
steal on; and you that are in the habit of swearing, swear away; and you
that have been in the habit of taking advantage of each other, cheat away;
and those who lie, lie away; and you that trespass upon your brother,
trespass away; and so continue, Christian like, only be sure, just as you
are going to die, to look out and not have death catch you asleep, that
when it comes you may be awake enough just to repent of all your sins and
turn to God, and then you will be as fit subjects for heaven as powder
would be for a burning dwelling. Our lime-kiln, when it is burning to its
zenith, would be as fit a place for a powder house, as in the celestial
kingdom for such characters.
Do you think that I am telling you the truth? I do not care one
groat whether you think that I am telling you the truth, or not; for when
the day comes that we shall be weighed in the balance, you will know. I
am charged by the whole world with almost every degree of immoral conduct,
with the most erroneous practices that were ever indulged in by any person
on the earth, and for what? Because I have such an influence over these
men who are sitting here; because you all hearken to your leader. I would
to God that this was altogether the truth, for I tell you, in the name of
the Lord, that there would not be a professed Latter-day Saint in this
Territory, but what would live his religion. They think we are all one,
but when the Saints gather here they are far from being one; they have not
yet learned to be one in Christ, they do not understand the principle of
being one in a church capacity, to say nothing about being one in a family
capacity, or in a neighborhood capacity. The people might have known,
long ago, what the difficulty is, if the influences, temptations, and
lusts that are in us naturally are given way to, and we are led captive at
the will of him that rules the world; that forms the grand difficulty.
Do you want to know the reason why I speak of our being so
comfortably situated this morning in so comfortable a meeting house? We
can return home and sit down and warm our feet before the fire, and can
eat our bread and butter, &c., but my mind is yonder in the snow, where
those immigrating Saints are, and my mind has been with them ever since I
had the report of their start from Winter Quarters, (Florence,) on the 3rd
of September. I cannot talk about any thing, I cannot go out or come in,
but what in every minute or two minutes my mind reverts to them; and the
questions--whereabouts are my brethren and sisters who are on the Plains,
and what is their condition--force themselves upon me and annoy my
feelings all the time. And were I to answer my own feelings, I should do
so by undertaking to do what the conference voted I should not do, that
is, I should be with them now in the snow, even though it should be up to
the knees, up to the waist, or up to the neck. My mind is there, and my
faith is there; I have a great many reflections about them.
Have any of you suffered while coming here? Yes. How many of you
sisters present buried your husbands, or your fathers, or your mothers, or
children, on the Plains? How many of you brethren buried your wives?
Have you suffered, and been in peril and trouble? Yes, you had to endure
anguish and pain from the effects of cholera, toil, and weariness. Do you
live your religion when you get there, after all the trouble, afflictions,
an pains you have passed through to come to Zion? and to a pretty Zion!
Men and women start across the Plains for this place, and are they willing
to wade through the snow? Yes. To travel through snow storms? Yes. To
wade rivers? Yes. What for? To get to Zion. And here we are in Zion,
and what a Zion! where it is necessary for the cry of reformation to go
through the land, both a spiritual and temporal reformation. God is more
merciful than man can be, and it is well for us. Again, when I consider
the backsliding of the people, and their sins, I will not ask God to be
more merciful, and have more sympathy towards me, than I have for my
brethren and sisters.
A good many teams have already gone out to meet the Saints who are
struggling to gain this place; I can hardly keep from talking about them
all the time, for when I am preaching they are uppermost in my mind. The
brethren were liberal last Sunday in turning out to meet them with teams,
still if any more feel desirous of going to their assistance, I will give
them the privilege, and advise them to take feed, not only for their own
animals, but also for those of the brethren who have already gone out, for
they will very likely be short. But I should be more particularly
thankful if the minds of this community could be so impressed and stirred
up, so wakened up, that when those poor brethren and sisters who are now
on the Plains do arrive they may be able to say of a truth and in very
deed, "God be thanked, we have got to Zion." But fearfulness and
forebodings of disappointment to them are in my feelings. How far they
may be disappointed, I do not know.
I do not wish to be personal in this congregation, but let me say to
the authorities, to the Elders of Israel, the Seventies, High Priests,
Bishops, or any other quorum or class of officers, if you will appoint
meetings and have only those present whom we wish to be there, I will then
tell you how to commence a reformation. I will there be particular and
personal in my remarks, if necessary, and I will talk to you as severely
as I already have to some of the quorums. Now then, morally reform. "In
what?" In everything. Reform your moral character, and be at least as
moral as you would if you belonged to a Methodist, Presbyterian, or
Baptist church, or to the Roman Catholics: be as moral as those classes of
people, for heaven's sake. Then there will be a chance for you to reform
in spirit, and to get the light of eternity to shine upon your efforts.
There are a great many things to be taught and practised. I have
frequently thought that I would rather preach to and baptize new converts
than to fashion over the old ones, for you can seldom get a good pattern
out of them. Some will be full of seams and checks, and you never can
make a sound piece out of them. If I had the material to work with I
would rather make new ones, than patch up the old ones: but as we have not
the new materials to work upon, we must patch up the old ones. Patch up
yourselves--make your characters comely to each other. I am not so
anxious about the Spirit; let a man walk as pure and holy as the Gods and
angels, and then see if there will not be the light of eternity in him.
Let a man or woman walk without spot or blemish and the Spirit and power
of God Almighty will be with them all the time, and the angels of God will
be round about them all the time, they will be preserved to do the will of
God preparatory to an eternal exaltation.
Do not talk to me and tell me that you are so backslidden and dark,
but reform and get the light of God within you. Some get up here and say,
"I will live my religion, I will brethren; O pray for me, I will live my
religion, if it costs me my life." Yes, some of the great men of Israel
talk in that style. Some of the Presidents come here and say, "I will
live my religion, God being my helper, if it takes away my life." When a
man talks about his religion costing him his life, I want to ask that man
if he has any common sense about him. Have you any true philosophy,
argument, light, or intelligence in the least degree? "O yes, we are
philosophers." Then ask yourselves from whence you derive your lives,
your means, your property, everything you can enjoy in time and eternity.
Do you receive them outside of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? No you do not.
And still a man will get up here and say, "I will serve the Lord, if it
costs me my life." I will say what I said yesterday, such a man is a
fool. Such a man is condemned, and the wrath of God is upon him. His
eyes are closed, and he is no more fit for a President of the Seventies,
or any other quorum, than a red hot lime-kiln is for a powder house. Cut
such a man off from the Church, for he has backslidden to that degree that
nothing but death stares him in the face, when he looks to God and Christ
with a view of keeping their law. We wish those rotten branches cut off
from the Church, severed from the trunk of the tree; slash them off, and
put a little wax on where you cut the limb off, that the wound may heal
over, and the tree grow more thrifty. May the Lord bless us. Amen.
COUNSEL CONCERNING IMMIGRATION--BENEFITS TO BE DERIVED FROM AN EARLY
START--CROSSING THE PLAINS WITH HANDCARTS, ETC.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, November 2, 1856.
Brother Kimball, in his remarks, touched upon an idea that had not
previously entered my mind, that is, that some of the people were
dissatisfied with me and my counselors, on account of the lateness of this
season's immigration. I do not know but what such may be the case, as I
am aware that those persons now on the Plains have a great many friends
and relatives here; but it never came into my mind that I was in the least
degree censurable for any person's being now upon the Plains. Why?
Because there is not the least shadow of reason for casting such censure
upon me. I am about as free from what is called jealousy, as any man that
lives; I am not jealous of any body, though I know what the feeling is;
but it never troubled me much, even in my younger days. Neither am I
suspicious of my brethren, therefore I was not suspecting any censure of
the kind just named.
Aside from entire want of foundation, and aside from my freedom from
jealousy and suspicion, there are other reasons why I could not be
expected to have indulged in the suspicion of such a charge. Our general
epistles usually go from here twice a year, and the immigration, the
gathering of the people, is dictated in those epistles, with a
considerable degree of minute detail; I also advance many ideas on the
same subject, from time to time, which are written and published; and I
write a great many letters on this subject, and many of these are
published.
There is not a person, who knows anything about the counsel of the
First Presidency concerning the immigration, but what knows that we have
recommended it to start in season. True, we have not expressly, and with
a penalty, forbidden the immigration to start late, but hereafter I am
going to lay an injunction and place a penalty, to be suffered by any
Elder or Elders who will start the immigration across the Plains after a
given time; and the penalty shall be that they shall be severed from the
Church, for I will not have such late starts. You know my life; there is
not a person in this Church and kingdom but what must acknowledge that
gold and silver, houses and lands, &c., do multiply in my hands. There is
not an individual but what must acknowledge that I am as good a financier
as they ever knew, in all things that I put my hands to. This is well
known by the people, and they consider me a frugal, saving man, therefore
there is no ground or room for their suspecting that my mismanagement
caused the present sufferings on the Plains. I presume that brother
Kimball never would have thought of such an idea, had he not heard it.
Say that we start a company from the Missouri river as late as the
first of June, and allow them three months in which to perform the
journey, then they have time to travel moderately and one month of good
weather for lee-way, in which to finish the journey, provided they do not
complete it in three months; then they may be ninety days or more in
coming a thousand miles, which a child of four years old could walk it in
that time. They may stop and feed their teams, and after they arrive they
will have the autumn in which to look round and prepare for winter. This
is my policy, and then during the first half of the journey the cattle can
get what is called prairie grass while it is at its best, for it is easily
killed by frost, and cattle must have the privilege of feeding upon it
before it is too dry, or frost bitten. The month of June is the best
month for that grass, and this all know who are acquainted with the
western prairies. Then they come to the mountain grass in the latter part
of their journey, which though probably dry by the time they get to it, is
filled with nutrition, nearly as much so as grain, and will fatten cattle.
They can come along moderately, take their time, and arrive here in
August. They should be here in that month, what for? To help us harvest
our late wheat, corn, potatoes; to help get up wood, put up fences and
prepare for winter. This plan also puts into the possession of new comers
time and ability to secure to themselves their winter's provision. Do you
not see that such is the result? I have known this all the time. I have
always said, send the companies across the Plains early. Companies have
suffered loss upon loss of lives and property, but never by the dictation
of the First Presidency. Do you not readily understand that if the
immigration had been here a few months ago, or by the first of September,
that they would have had opportunity to rest, and then to secure wheat, to
lay up a few potatoes, to get up wood and lay in the staple necessaries
for winter?
But our Elders abroad say, by their conduct all the time, that we
here in the mountains do not understand what is wanted in the east, as
well as they do. They do not proclaim it in so many words, but their
conduct does, and "by their fruits ye shall know them." Their actions
assert that they know more than we do, but I say that they do not. If
they had sent out immigration in the season that they should have done,
you and I could have kept our teams at home; we could have fenced our five
and ten acre lots; we could have put in our fall wheat; could have got up
wood for ourselves and for the poor that cannot help themselves; and thus
we might have been providing for ourselves, and making ourselves
comfortable; whereas, now your hands and mine are tied.
This people are this day deprived of thousands of acres of wheat that
would have been sowed by this time, had it not been for the misconduct of
our immigration affairs this year, and we would have had an early harvest,
but now we may have to live on roots and weeds again before we get the
wheat. I look at this matter as plainly as I do upon your faces. I have
a philosophical forecast, and I do know the results of men's work; I know
what the conduct of this people will produce in their future life. If I
have not this power naturally, God has surely given it to me.
Well, what shall be done? Why, we must bear it. The Elders east
fancy that they know more about what is wanted here than we do, and we
have to bear it. Let me have had the dictation of the emigration from
Liverpool, and I could have brought many more persons here, and at a cost
of no more than from three to five dollars of what it has now cost,
provided I could have dictated matters at every point. That is not
boasting; I only want to tell you that I know more than they know. But
what have we to do now? We have to be compassionate, we have to be
merciful to our brethren.
Here is brother Franklin D. Richards who has but little knowledge of
business, except what he has learned in the Church; he came into the
Church when a boy, and all the public business he has been in is the
little he has done while in Liverpool, England; and here is brother Daniel
Spencer, brother Richards' First Counselor and a man of age and
experience, and I do not know that I will attach blame to either of them.
But if, while at the Missouri river, they had received a hint from any
person on this earth, or if even a bird had chirped it in the ears of
brothers Richards and Spencer, they would have known better than to rush
men, women, and children on to the prairie in the autumn months, on the
third of September, to travel over a thousand miles. I repeat that if a
bird had chirped the inconsistency of such a course in their ears, they
would have thought and considered for one moment, and would have stopped
those men, women, and children there until another year.
If any man or woman complains of me or of my Counselors, in regard to
the lateness of some of this season's immigration, let the curse of God be
on them and blast their substance with mildew and destruction, until their
names are forgotton [sic] from the earth. I never thought of my being
accused of advising or having anything to do with so late a start. The
people must know that I know how to handle money and means, and I never
supposed that anybody had a doubt of it. It will cost this people more to
bring in those companies from the Plains, than it would to have seasonably
brought them from the outfitting point on the Missouri river. I do not
believe that the biggest fool in the community could entertain the thought
that all this loss of life, time, and means, was through the mismanagement
of the First Presidency.
I know how to dictate affairs; and no man need to have walked in
darkness touching this duty with regard to the foreign immigration. You
can read their duty in our epistles, letters, and sermons; and what is the
purport of those documents, on this point? That we are new settlers in a
wild and uninhabited country, and are thrown upon our own resources; that
we need all our teams and means to prepare for those persons who are
coming, instead of crippling us by taking our bread, men, and teams, and
going out to meet them. And if the present system continues, this people
will be found like the Kilkenny cats, which eat up each other clear to
their tails, and they were left jumping at one another; such operations
will financially use us up.
Last year my back and head ached, and I have been about half mad ever
since, and that too righteously, because of the reckless squandering of
means and leaving me to foot the bills. Last year, without asking me a
word of counsel, without a word being spoken to me about the matter, there
was over sixty thousand dollars of indebtedness incurred for me to pay.
What for? To fetch a few immigrants here, when I could have brought the
whole of them with one quarter of the means.
What is the cause of our immigration being so late this season? The
ignorance and mismanagement of some who had to do with it, and still,
perhaps they did the best they knew how.
Are those people in the frost and snow by my doings? No, my skirts
are clear of their blood, God knows. If a bird had chirped in brother
Franklin's ears in Florence, and the brethren there had held a council, he
would have stopped the rear companies there, and we would have been
putting in our wheat, &c., instead of going on the Plains and spending
weeks and months to succor our brethren. I make these remarks because
they are true.
As to the companies now out, we must bring them in; and another year
we will send men to the Missouri river who understand the right management
of affairs, and will send them in the speediest conveyances, so that they
may not get the "big head" before they arrive there, and then they may be
able to do as we tell them.
Can people come across the Plains with hand-carts? Ask brothers
Edmund Ellsworth, Daniel D. McArthur and William Bunker, who led the three
hand-cart companies that have already arrived; and the brethren and
sisters in those companies state that they crossed quicker and easier than
the wagon companies.
Those who counseled the companies to come on have nearly all gone
back to their assistance, after staying at home but about two days, after
their return from a long mission, thus manifesting their faith by their
works.
I cannot help what is out of my reach, but I am on hand to send more
teams, and to send and send, until, if it is necessary, we are perfectly
stopped in every kind of business. Brother Heber says that he will send
another team, and I mean to send as many more as he does; I ought to send
more than brother Heber, for I am fourteen days older than he is. I can
send more teams, but I do not intend that the fetters shall be on me
another season.
I will mention something more. You cannot hear George D. Grant,
Daniel Spencer and others of the lately returned missionaries speak
without eulogizing Franklin D. Richards. They are full of eulogizing
Franklin D. Richards, but they need to be careful or they will have the
"big head" and become as dead and devoid of the Spirit as old pumpkins.
And with them it is, "What could I have done without brother George? And
what could we have done without brother Franklin?--and when you hear me
calling you Rabbi, know ye that I want to be called Rabbi;" and so it
goes, but I suppose that this is not what they do it for.
Don't you know that I know whether you are good for anything, or not,
without my praising you? I know all about you, without telling what great
things you have done, and what you have not done, [sic-punc.] But the
very spirit some have in them of pride, arrogance, and self esteem, has
led men and women to die on the Plains, by scores, at least their folly
has. And if they had not had any such spirit about them, God would have
whispered to them to have held a council, and would have stopped them from
rushing their brethren and sisters into such suffering. But we must now
rescue those people, and may God help us to do it. Amen.
THE EMIGRATING SAINTS WERE PROMPTED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, November 9, 1856.
I wish to say to the brethren, as many as are here to-day, who have
come across the Plains with the hand-carts, that I feel to bless you, and
you may be sure that you have my best feelings all the time.
While brother Ellsworth was speaking about the Spirit, and the
spirits that were around them, the spirit that he seemed to have to
contend with, and the spirit that the people had to contend with, I wanted
to tell one secret. While those brethren and sisters were faltering, and
did not know whether to stop or go along, there was faith in this valley
that bound them to that journey, and they were obliged to perform it, they
could not help performing it. Who had that faith? The people here; and
the Spirit of the Lord was all the time prompting them, and the brethren
who led them. They were, as many are now, they were prompted to do as
they did; they could not do anything else, because God would not let them
do anything else. The brethren and sisters came across the Plains because
they could not stay; that is the secret of the movement. But let the
devil have his will, and do you suppose that any of them could have
crossed the Plains? No, not a person ever would have started. But they
did start, and they performed the journey.
We are doing a great many things, and Joseph did a great many things,
because the Spirit of the Lord prompts us to do them, as it prompted him.
Joseph could not do anything else than what he did; it is the same with us
all the time. The Lord prompted the hand-cart companies all the time, in
the midst of their afflictions, to prepare for and start upon their
journey, and they only had faith and power for the day, and on the morrow
it seemed as though they certainly had to stop. But when to-morrow came
they had faith and power to perform the journey of that day, and so they
have been prompted day by day, to this point.
God is at the helm of this great ship, and that makes me feel good.
When I think about the world, and the enemies of the cause of God, I care
no more about them than I do for a parcel of musketoes. All hell may
howl, and they may run up and down the earth and seek whom they may
destroy, but they cannot move the faithful and pure in heart. Let those
apostatize who wish to, but God will save all who are determined to be
saved.
Brethren and sisters, I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
THE GOSPEL LIKE A NET CAST INTO THE SEA--GOOD AND BAD IN THE
CHURCH--EMBRACE PRINCIPLES IN YOUR FAITH, NOT MEN--CONFESS ONLY TO THOSE
AGAINST WHOM YOU HAVE SINNED--ECONOMIZE THE GIFTS OF GOD, ETC.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, November 9, 1856.
I rise to explain one principle to Elders who are in the habit of
preaching the Gospel to the world. Not but what their views coincide with
mine, not but what they fully comprehend the matter, but all have not the
power and faculty to develop what is in them; some are at a loss to
explain that which they understand.
I wish to refer more particularly to a remark made by brother
Benjamin L. Clapp, who has just been speaking to us concerning men coming
to him in Texas, and saying that things were thus and so in Utah. What
can they tell about Utah? To begin with, they do not know any evil of
this people; the sins of this people are with themselves and their God. I
defy all hell and all the devils in and about the inhabitants of the earth
to substantiate permanent acts of wickedness against the Elders of this
people.
Suppose that men came to brother Benjamin in Texas, and told him that
I was the biggest scoundrel in the world, do not this people know better
about that than they? and even Benjamin himself knows it to be a
falsehood? We know that is falsehood, and I should have taken the liberty
of telling them so.
I never preached in Texas, but I have preached in places as wicked;
and when a man told me that which was not true about this people or about
the leaders of this people, I would take the liberty of telling him that
he was not telling the truth. I preached during twenty-four or
twenty-five years among the wicked, and I never yet saw a man that I was
afraid to tell that he was saying that which was not so, when I knew
better; frequently they would turn and say to me, "You had better tell me
that I lie," and my prompt reply would be, you do, sir, and that before
God.
What fault could the world justly find with this people? Some have
passed through here to California to dig gold, but they have received
nothing at the hands of this people but kindness. What do they know about
us? They cannot charge us with one evil. Suppose there are wicked men
here, I say the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that gathers fish
both good and bad, and I say this because it is true.
We have in our community the worst creatures that the world can
produce; the Gospel net must gather them of necessity, or the saying of
Jesus, and what he knew of the kingdom in the last day would not come to
pass. There are as bad men and women within the pales of this Church as
there are upon this earth, and the Gospel being preached to them prepares
them to become devils. As you have frequently been told, that is the only
way men can become devils; they must have the knowledge to sin against the
Holy Ghost, or yet the day of redemption awaits them, one or the other.
Suppose I was preaching in the world, and they should alledge that
some of the people in Utah swore, stole, and were wicked in many ways, I
would acknowledge it to be the case. They might then inquire, "Why do you
say that you have got the Gospel of salvation? and why do you come to us
to preach, seeing that your own people do wickedly?" I would reply that
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that gathers fish of all kinds,
therefore we must have the good and the bad in Utah, or else it cannot be
the kingdom of heaven.
We have some of the bad, and those who pass through our settlements,
or sojourn in our midst for a brief period, become familiar with those who
are wicked, but do not become acquainted with the righteous. The great
majority of this people are righteous, but the worldlings seek out and
mingle with the few wicked here, because both those classes love the
spirit of the world.
As to the great argument against the kingdom of God, because there
are some evil doers in the Church, I will take the principles and
doctrines taught by Jesus and his Apostles, and show that these go to
prove and substantiate the fact that this is the kingdom of God. Why?
Because we can produce the meanest curses there are on the earth, those
who take all the revelations given by the Almighty, and every influence
and revelation they can get from the devil, and make use of them to add
sin to sin. This fact is also another proof that all hell is against this
people, for there is not a person in the world, that gives way to
wickedness, but what has antipathy against this people.
Now hearken, O ye Texians [sic]; do you say there are are [sic]
people here who are wicked? So we say. Could I wish things to be
otherwise? No, I would not have them different if I could. We can
produce the best men and the worse, the best women and the worst, and thus
prove, according to the sayings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, that
this is the kingdom of God, or at least answers to the Savior's
description of that kingdom.
Were I in Texas I would say, let me tell you that I have not embraced
any man on this earth, in my faith, but I have embraced the doctrine of
salvation, and it is no matter what the people do in Utah. Here is the
doctrine of salvation, talk against that, prove that to be false, or find
a flaw in it, if you can. Ask for the people, they cannot save you.
Never embrace a man in your faith, for that is sectarianism.
There are many of the men and women now before me who have looked for
a pure people, and have supposed that that was a proof of the truth of our
doctrines, but they will never find such a people until Satan is bound,
and Jesus comes to reign with his Saints. The doctrine we preach is the
doctrine of salvation, and it is that which the Elders of this Church take
to the world, and not the people of Utah.
Some of the Elders seem to be tripped up in a moment, if the wicked
can find any fault with the members of this Church; but bless your souls,
I would not yet have this people faultless, for the day of separation has
not yet arrived. I have many a time, in this stand, dared the world to
produce as mean devils as we can; we can beat them at anything. We have
the greatest and smoothest liars in the world, the cunningest and most
adroit thieves, and any other shade of character that you can mention.
We can pick out Elders in Israel right here who can beat the world at
gambling, who can handle the cards, cut and shuffle them with the smartest
rogue on the face of God's foot-stool. I can produce Elders here who can
shave their smartest shavers, and take their money from them. We can beat
the world at any game.
We can beat them, because we have men here that live in the light of
the Lord, that have the Holy Priesthood, and hold the keys of the kingdom
of God. But you may go through all the sectarian world, and you cannot
find a man capable of opening the door of the kingdom of God to admit
others in. We can do that. We can pray the best, preach the best, and
sing the best. We are the best looking and finest set of people on the
face of the earth, and they may begin any game they please, and we are on
hand, and can beat them at anything they have a mind to begin. They may
make sharp their two-edged swords, and I will turn out the Elders of
Israel with greased feathers, and whip them to death. We are not to be
beat. We expect to be stumbling block to the whole world, and a rock of
offence to them.
I never preached to the world but what the cry was, "that damned old
Joe Smith has done thus and so." I would tell the people that they did
not know him, and I did, and that I knew him to be a good man; and that
when they spoke against him, they spoke against as good a man as ever
lived.
I recollect a conversation I had with a priest who was an old friend
of ours, before I was personally acquainted with the Prophet Joseph. I
clipped every argument he advanced, until at last he came out and began to
rail against "Joe Smith," saying, "that he was a mean man, a liar,
money-digger, gambler, and a whore-master;" and he charged him with
everything bad, that he could find language to utter. I said, hold on,
brother Gillmore, here is the doctrine, here is the Bible, the Book of
Mormon, and the revelations that have come through Joseph Smith the
Prophet. I have never seen him, and do not know his private character.
The doctrine he teaches is all I know about the matter, bring anything
against that if you can. As to anything else I do not care. If he acts
like a devil, he has brought forth a doctrine that will save us, if we
will abide it. He may get drunk every day of his life, sleep with his
neighbor's wife every night, run horses and gamble, I do not care anything
about that, for I never embrace any man in my faith. But the doctrine he
has produced will save you and me, and the whole world; and if you can
find fault with that, find it. He said, "I have done."
It is the fashion in the world to embrace men in their faith, or a
fine meeting house, or a genteel congregation, thinking, "O, what perfect
order, and how pretty they look; how straight they walk to meeting, and
how long their faces are during the services; how pretty that deacon looks
under the pulpit; the people are so pretty, the meeting house is so nice,
that we want to join such pretty people." Such feelings will take a
people to hell. Embrace a doctrine that will purge sin and iniquity from
your hearts, and sanctify you before God, and you are right, no matter how
others act.
I wish you all to understand that no Elders go to any place among the
world, but what the wicked find fault with the people of God. They found
fault with Joseph Smith, and at length killed him, as they have a great
many others of the Latter-day Saints. What for? Because of his
wickedness? No. But the cry was, "Away with him, we cannot do with this
man nor with his people." Did they hate him for his evil works? No. If
he had been a liar, a swearer, a gambler, or in any way an evil doer, and
of the world, it would have loved its own, and they would have embraced
him, because he could have spread still more delusion through the world
around him.
We are hated, because we are righteous. If we have sinned, the
people in Texas know nothing about it; they cannot in truth find a word of
fault with the charater of this people, except with the few we have on
hand ready to beat them at their meanness. The Lord wants those few here
to fulfil His words and purposes, and they are fit for no other place.
The sheep and the goats, the calves and the pigs, are all good in their
places. The Lord will make use of us to His glory; and though a good many
of those who now profess to be good Latter-day Saints may meet
condemnation, even their course will finally result to the glory of God.
Are these ideas correct? Judge ye.
Now, brethren, let me say a few words to you. Let us repent of our
backslidings and tell the people of Texas that we ask no odds of them, nor
of any one else but our Father and our God, and those we are associated
with in His kingdom. As brother Benjamin has exhorted you, confess your
faults to the individuals that you ought to confess them to, and proclaim
them not on the house tops. Be careful that you wrong not yourselves. Do
you not know that if a good person is guilty of committing a crime he
thinks that everybody knows it, and is ready to confess here, and there,
and everywhere he has an opportunity?
I do not want to know anything about the sins of this people, at
least no more than I am obliged to. If persons lose confidence in
thenselves, it takes away the strength, faith and confidence that others
have in them; it leaves a space that we call weakness. If you have
committed a sin that no other person on the earth knows of, and which
harms no other one, you have done a wrong and sinned against your God, but
keep that within your own bosom, and seek to God and confess there, and
get pardon for your sin.
If children have sinned against their parents, or husbands against
their wives, or wives against their husbands, let them confess their
faults one to another and forgive each other, and there let the confession
stop; and then let them ask pardon from their God. Confess your sins to
whoever you have sinned against, and let it stop there. If you have
committed a sin against the community, confess to them. If you have
sinned in your family, confess there. Confess your sins, iniquities, and
follies, where that confession belongs, and learn to classify your
actions.
Suppose that the people were to get up here and confess their sins,
it would destroy many innocent persons. Does Texas know about it? No,
nor you about one another, if you will be wise and confess your wrongs
where they ought to be confessed, and keep the knowledge of them from
every person it ought to be kept from. In this way you will have strength
against the enemy, who would otherwise buffet you and say, "Here is your
wickedness made manifest," and would overcome you and destroy all the
confidence you have in yourselves and in your God.
If the Lord has confidence in you, preserve it, and take a course to
produce more. If the Lord had a people on the earth that He had perfect
confidence in, there is not a blessing in the eternities of our God, that
they could bear in the flesh, that He would not pour out upon them.
Tongue cannot tell the blessings the Lord has for a people who have proved
themselves before Him.
That we may have confidence in Him, and He in us, let us take a
coures to create it, that He may open the heavens and pour upon us the
blessings and power of the Holy Ghost.
Fathers, reflect for yourselves. Suppose that a father had thirty
thousand dollars to distribute among three of his boys, and that one of
them was a spendthrift who would prodigally sow his share to the four
winds, and cause his wife and children to come on his father for support.
Would that father have confidence to bestow ten thousand dollars on his
spendthrift son? No, but he would deal it out to that son's wife and
children as they might need, and the rest he would preserve for him to
another time. Our Father has to deal in that manner with us, for He has
not confidence to know that we will do the things we ought and economize
His blessings, if He should bestow them upon us.
We are like children who want the looking-glass to play with, and who
cry for the sharp razor and for the moon they see reflected in the water,
desiring them for play-things. Let us take such a course that God will
have confidence in us, and then we shall receive all we need, all we
desire and ask for.
Take a wise course; do not be foolish. I want you to reform, for
there is need of it; though the world knows nothing about it. They hate
us for the truth's sake, and seek to destroy us; and I say to them, go it
ye cripples, while you are young; for the day is coming in which you will
find yourselves as badly crippled as ever the "Mormons" were.
May the Lord bless you. Amen.
TEMPTATION AND TRIALS NECESSARY TO EXALTATION--IF THE SAINTS PERFORM
THEIR OBLIGATIONS, THE LORD WILL NOT FAIL IN HIS--HAND-CART EMIGRATION
PREFERABLE TO THAT BY OX-TEAMS.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, November 16, 1856.
I rise to make a few remarks, to satisfy the feelings of the people
and correct their minds and judgment.
You have heard concerning the sufferings of the people in the
handcart trains; and, probably you will hear the Elders, for some time to
come, those who have lately returned from their missions and those now on
the Plains, speak about the scenes they have witnessed, and I would like
to forestall the erroneous impressions that many may otherwise imbibe on
this subject.
Count the living and the dead, and you will find that not half the
number died in brother Willie's hand-cart company, in proportion to the
number in that company, as have died in past seasons by the cholera in
single companies travelling with wagons and oxen, with carriages and
horses, and that too in the forepart of the season. When you call to mind
this fact, the relations of the sufferings of our companies this season
will not be so harrowing to your feelings. With regard to those who have
died and been laid away by the roadside on the Plains, since the cold
weather commenced, let me tell you they have not suffered one hundreth
[sic] part so much as did our brethren and sisters who have died with the
cholera.
Some of those who have died in the hand-cart companies this season, I
am told, would be singing, and, before the tune was done, would drop over
and breathe their last; and others would die while eating, and with a
piece of bread in their hands. I should be pleased when the time comes,
if we could all depart from this life as easily as did those our brethren
and sisters. I repeat, it will be a happy circumstance, when death
overtakes me, if I am privileged to die without a groan or struggle, while
yet retaining a good appetite for food. I speak of these things, to
forestall indulgence in a misplaced sympathy.
You have heard the brethren relate their trials through Iowa; it is a
a [sic] wicked place. Those regions of the country are the locality of
the afflictions that have come upon this people. Take Missouri, Illinois,
and Iowa, and they are the places where we have been afflicted and driven.
What can we expect from those people? anything but hell out of doors?
Not long since I was talking with one of the brethren, who has
crossed the Plains this season, in regard to the propriety of companies
starting so late. He argued that it was far better for the Saints to be
striving with all their might, doing all they could to serve the Lord and
keep His commandments, and traveling the road to Zion with intent to build
it up and establish the kingdom of God on earth, even though they should
lay down their lives by the way, than to stop among the Gentiles and
apostates. I told him it was a good argument, though it was not exactly
according to the will of the people and the will of the Lord, for He
wishes to throw temptation and trial before His people, to prove them
preparatory to their eternal exaltation; consequently, if the people have
not an opportunity of proving themselves before they die, by the ruler of
their faith and religion, they cannot expect to attain to so high a glory
and exaltation as they could if they had been tried in all things. Yet I
believe it is better for the people to lay down their bones by the way
side, than it is for them to stay in the States and apostatize.
I told the Elder that his argument seemed reasonable, but it made me
think of the story about a Roman Catholic priest and a Jew. The priest
was crossing on the ice, and on his way found a Jew, who had fallen
through an air hole, clinging to the edge of the ice, and unable to get
out. He begged of the priest to help him out, but he would not, unless he
first professed a belief in Jesus Christ. "I cannot," said the Jew.
"Then I will let you down," replied the priest, and let go of him. Still
clinging to the ice, as the priest was about to leave, he again begged him
to pull him out. "I cannot, unless you believe in Christ." "I cannot
believe," said the Jew, and the priest let him go again. At length the
Jew said, "Take me out, I do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all my
might." "Do you?" said the priest, "then I think it is best to save you,
while you are a Christian and strong in the faith," and he shoved him
under the ice.
If he could have it so, I would a little rather the Saints could be
privileged to come here and serve the Lord, or apostatize, as they might
choose, for we surely expect to gather both the good and the bad. You
recollect what I told you, last Sabbath, that we can beat the world at
anything. If brother Willie has brought in some of the sharks, the
garfish, the sheepheads, and so on and so forth, it is all right, for we
need them to make up the assortment; as yet, I do not know how we could
get along without them; all these kinds seem to be necessary.
I have seriously reflected upon the gathering of the people. They
have all the time urgently plead and importuned to be gathered, especially
from the old countries where they are so severely oppressed; and they are
willing to come on foot and pull hand-carts, or do anything, so they can
be gathered with the Saints. Well, we do gather them, and where do many
of them go? To the devil.
In Nauvoo we had obligations, to an amount exceeding $30,000, against
Saints that we had brought from England with our private means; and there
is not to exceed two, of all the persons thus brought out, who have
honorably come forward to pay one cent of that outlay in their behalf; and
some of them were in the mob when it killed Joseph.
I knew all the time that it was better for many of these persons to
stop in England and starve to death, for then they might have received a
salvation; but they plead with the Lord and with His servants for an
opportunity to prove themselves, and made use of it to seal their
damnation and become angels to the devil. They had the opportunity, do
you not see that they had?
If Saints do right and have performed all required of them in this
probation, they are under no more obligation, and then it is no matter
whether they live or die, for their work here is finished. This is a
doctrine I believe.
If brother Willie's company had not been assisted by the people in
these valleys, and he and his company had lived to the best light they had
in their possession, had done everything they could have done to cross the
Plains, and done justice as they did, asking no questions and having no
doubting; or in other words, if, after their President or Presidents told
them to go on the Plains, they had gone in full faith, had pursued their
journey according to their ability, and done all they could, and we could
not have rendered them any assistance, it would have been just as easy for
the Lord to send herds of fat buffaloes to lay down within twenty yards of
their camp, as it was to send flocks of quails or to rain down manna from
heaven to Israel of old.
My faith is, when we have done all we can, then the Lord is under
obligation, and will not disappoint the faithful; He will perform the
rest. If no other assistance could have been had by the companies this
season, I think they would have had hundreds and hundreds of fat buffaloes
crowding around their camp, so that they could not help but kill them.
But, under the circumstances, it was our duty to assist them, and we were
none too early in the operation.
It was not a rash statement for me to make at our last Conference,
when I told you that I would dismiss the Conference, if the people would
not turn out, and that I, with my brethren, would go to the assistance of
the companies. We knew that our brethren and sisters were on the Plains
and in need of assistance, and we had the power and ability to help them,
therefore it became our duty to do so.
The Lord was not brought under obligation in the matter, so He had
put the means in our possession to render them the assistance they needed.
But if there had been no other way, the Lord would have helped them, if He
had had to send His angels to drive up buffaloes day after day, and week
after week. I have full confidence that the Lord would have done His
part; my only lack of confidence is, that those who profess to be Saints
will not do right and perform their duty.
You hear the testimony of the brethren with regard to the feasibility
of the hand-cart mode of traveling; that testimony and their experience
have fully sustained the correctness of the views and feelings of myself
and others upon that subject from the beginning. It is the very essence
of my feelings that the people in this house, if we wanted to cross the
Plains next season to the States, could start from here with hand-carts,
and beat any company in traveling that would cross the Plains with teams,
and be better of [sic] and healthier. These are my feelings, and they
have been all the time.
I have argued the point before the people that they are not aware of
their ability, that they do not know what they can do; that they are
healthier when they live in the open air. What gives the people colds and
makes them sick? You hear many say, "I had not had a cold this fall,
until I came into our new house." Brethren and sisters that have come
into the city from living in the kanyons, and those who have arrived from
the States this season, have not been troubled with colds until they came
into warm houses; that gives them colds, by depriving their lungs of the
benefit they are organized to receive from the atmosphere.
It is a strange thought, but could you weigh the particles of life
that you constantly receive from the water you drink and from the air you
breathe, you would learn that you receive a greater proportion of
nourishment from those sources than from the food you consume. Many are
not aware of this, for they are not apt to reflect how much longer they
can live when deprived of food than they can when deprived of air. When
people are obliged to breathe confined air, they do not have that free,
full flow of the purification and nourishment that is in the fresh air,
and they begin to decay, and go into what we call consumption.
People need not be afraid of living out of doors, nor of sleeping out
of doors; this country is much healthier than the lowlands in the States,
or than many places in the old world. I recollect that in 1834, myself,
brother Kimball, and others, traveled two thousand miles inside of three
months, and that we too in the heat of summer, [sic-punc] We cooked our
own food, carried our guns, got our provisions by the way, and performed
the journey within ninety days. We laid on the ground every night, and
there was scarcely a night that we could sleep, for the air rose from the
ground hot enough to suffocate us, and they supplied musketos in that
country, as they did eggs, by the bushel; they never thought of supplying
less than a bushel or so at once to an individual. That journey was many
times more taxing upon the health and life of a person, than this season's
hand-cart journey over the Plains.
You may take the rich and the poor, every person, and they can gather
from the Missouri river, or from parts of the States where there are no
railroads or steamboats, easier than they can with teams. And I am
ashamed of our Elders that go out on missions, it is a disgrace to the
Elders of Israel, that they do not start from here with hand-carts, or
with knapsacks on their backs, and go to the States, and from thence
preach their way to their respective fields of labor. Brother Kimball
moves that we do not send any Elders from this place again, unless they
take handcarts and cross the Plains on foot. When the time comes, I
expect that this motion will be put to vote.
It is a shame for the Elders to take with them from this place
everything they can rake and scrape. I can go on foot across the Plains.
As old as I am, I can take a hand-cart and draw it across those Plains
quicker than you can go with animals and loaded wagons, and be healthier
when I get to the Missouri river. Our Elders must have a good span of
horses, or mules, and must ride, ride, ride; kill many of their animals,
and get little or nothing for those left when they arrive at the Missouri
river, besides taking four or five hundred dollars worth of property from
their families. And some ride so much that they do not know how to
preach, whereas, if they would walk, they would be in far better condition
to labor in the Gospel.
As to the expediency of the handcart mode of traveling, brothers
Ellsworth, McArthur, and Bunker, who piloted the three first hand-cart
companies over the Plains, can testify that they easily beat the wagon
companies. Brother Ellsworth performed the journey in sixty-three days,
and brother McArthur in sixty-one and a half, notwithstanding the
hindrance by the baggage wagons. If brother Willie's company could have
had their provisions deposited at Laramie and at Green river, and had been
free from wagons, they would have been in this valley by the time they
were in the storms.
We are not in the least discouraged about the hand-cart method of
traveling. As to its preaching a sermon to the nations, as has been
remarked, they are preached pretty nigh to destruction already. We do not
care whether the hand-cart scheme preaches to them, or whether it be by
the teachings of the Elders of Israel. They are so bound up with their
friends and so priest-ridden, that they cannot burst through those chains;
and they will have to remain so until Jesus devises some other means to
save them, for the great majority will not hear and obey.
There are a few who are sufficiently independent to obey the truth
when they hear it. We will gather them up, and let the devils howl and
let all hell be moved in striving to overthrow this people. We will
gather the faithful, God being our helper, and we do not care whether the
rest hear and believe or not. The sound of the Gospel has gone to the
uttermost parts of the earth, as I have told you already; and I know not a
people, and hardly a nation, but what it makes them quake from centre to
circumference. If they do not believe the sound that has gone forth, let
them disbelieve; we ask no odds of them.
We do not expect that all the people will believe, and wickedness
will increase while the Saints are gathering together. If those who
profess to know what right is, will do right and live to the Gospel of
Christ which they understand, there is no danger but what the elect will
be saved, and that the devil cannot get them. All that Jesus designs to
save he will save; all that are disposed to believe and obey, he is
disposed to save, and will do it. And those that will falter and hearken
to the teachings and seductions of the world, the flesh, and the devil, he
can save upon the principles he has established.
Men act upon their own agency; we do not expect that those who will
not hearken and obey will be saved by the Gospel; and many that obey the
first principles of the Gospel will not live their religion.
Let this people live their religion here. We cry to you all the time
to live your religion. Let every man and woman forsak [sic] their evil
ways, and turn unto the Lord with all their hearts, that He may have mercy
on us, that the light may shine, and the nations feel its influence, and
the honest in heart rejoice therein and be gathered to Zion.
As I told the brethren the other evening, if the candle of the
Almighty does not shine from this place, you need not seek for light any
where else. If this people have not the light and power of God with them,
the Elders that go forth cannot have the light and enjoy the power that we
do not have here; they must be lower than we are; they cannot attain to
the light that we can here.
Shall we forsake our wickedness? I say, thank God, that I see a
spirit of repentance in a degree; but I want to see so thorough a reform
that sin and wickedness will be done away. Live your religion; that tells
the whole story. If you live your religion you have the Holy Ghost in
you, it abides with you; you shun evil, and put forth your energies to do
all the good you can; you will refrain from everything that is evil, and
do everything you can to promote the cause of God on the earth.
It is all embraced in the three words, live your religion; that is
what I wish to say to all good people. That the Lord may help us so to
do, that we may be accounted worthy to be saved in His kingdom, is my
constant prayer, brethren and sisters, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT JEDEDIAH M. GRANT.
A Funeral Sermon, by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, December 4, 1856.
We expected that this congregation would have been assembled and
seated by ten o'clock, or by a quarter past ten at the latest; it is now
twelve, lacking five minutes, and near the time when we should be moving
to the place of burial.
The time is so far advanced, that I shall not presume to answer my
feelings, in my remarks on this occasion. I expected to have had time
enough for offering some of my feelings and views, with regard to the
living and the dead. True, it would take me a long time to reveal to you
what is in my heart, but I expected to have had time to bestow a portion
thereof on this congregation.
I will say to those here assembled, and especially to those more
immediately connected with brother Grant in the capacity of a family, you
have no cause for mourning, neither have we. True, we were very fond of
the company and society of brother Grant; brother Jedediah was a man we
all loved, and we would have liked to have had him staid with us; we would
have been pleased in longer enjoying his society here.
But this our place of abode is only temporary; we are on a journey;
we have only to winter and summer, as it were. Brother Grant has got
through here, and has gone to his spiritual place of abode for a season.
Not that he has reached his journey's end, nor will he, until he has again
received this body that now lies before me. Every material part and
portion pertaining to his body, to the temporal organization that
constitutes the man, will clothe his spirit again, before he is prepared
to receive the place and habitation that is prepared for him, yet he has
gone to his spiritual home for a season.
I am aware of the feelings of families and friends on such occasions.
Many times I can govern and control my feelings, at other times I cannot.
When I can control my own feelings, I can collect my thoughts and express
my ideas as clearly as my language will permit.
In the few remarks that I will make to-day, I will not go to the
Bible, to the Book of Mormon, nor to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants,
for my text, for I will give you a text which comprehends the sermon also,
so that if I do not dwell directly upon it, I trust that what I say will
be true, for it will be incorporated in my text, and the text alone will
be a sermon.
On this occasion I will say, as on other occasions, blessed are they
that hear the Gospel of salvation, believe it, embrace it, and live to all
its precepts. That is the text, and a whole sermon in and of itself.
Time will not permit me to tell, only in part, wherein they are
blessed, how and with what they will be blessed, for it takes a life time
to prepare for this blessing.
Some people would have to live to be a hundred years of age, in order
to be as ripe in the things of God as was brother Grant, whose body now
lies lifeless before us; to be as ripe as was the spirit which lately
inhabited this deserted earthly tabernacle.
There are but few that can ripen for the glory, the immortality that
is prepared for the faithful; for receiving all that was purchased for
them by the Son of God; but very few can receive what brother Grant has
re- [sic] received in his life time. He has been in the Church upwards of
twenty-four years, and was a man that would live, comparatively speaking,
a hundred years in that time. The storehouse that was prepared in him to
receive the truth, was capable of receiving as much in twenty-five years
as most of men can in one hundred.
Though we might say that the time has been short which he has had to
prepare himself in the flesh for receiving all that is treasured up for
the faithful, yet there are but few men in this Church that ever will be
prepared to receive what he will receive, though they live thirty, fifty,
seventy-five, or a hundred years, or to the coming of the Son of Man;
there are but few men that will be prepared to receive the same degree of
glory and exaltation that brother Jedediah will receive. This may be
attributed to the peculiar organization of man.
It is not every man that is capable of filling every station, though
there is no man but what is capable of filling his proper station, and
that, too, with dignity and honor to himself. When you find a person that
is capable of receiving light and wisdom, one that can descend to the
capacity of the weakest of the weak, and can comprehend the highest and
most noble intelligence that can be obtained by man, can receive it with
all ease, and comprehend it, circumscribe it, understand it from first to
last, that is the man that can ripen for eternity in a few years; that is
the individual who is capable of occupying stations that many cannot
occupy.
Brother Grant we were well acquainted with, and there is no person
but what laments his departure from this world. But what will we mourn
for? I want to ask myself that question, as I have a great many times.
What will you mourn for, because brother Grant has gone where he can do
more good? No, we will not mourn for that. Will we mourn because he has
overcome all his enemies here, all that are opposed to Jesus Christ and to
his Gospel, because he has won the prize? Will we mourn for that?
He is prepared to dwell with Prophets, with brother Joseph, with the
ancient Apostles, with Moses, with Abraham, and to dwell in the presence
of Jesus Christ. We will not mourn for that. What will we mourn for? He
has lost nothing, but has gained all.
Why do we mourn? Perhaps it will be difficult for me to tell you,
yet I know. It is not the knowledge that God has given you or me, that
causes us to mourn; it is not the Spirit of the Gospel that produces
within us a mournful feeling; it is not the Spirit of Christ, the
knowledge of eternity, of God, or of the way of life and salvation. Our
mourning proceeds from none of those causes. What causes us to mourn?
Neither more nor less, to me and so far as I can convey my idea by
language, than the earthly weakness that is in us. It is not the
knowledge of the Almighty, the power of God, the light of eternity, but it
is the darkness, the weakness, the ignorance, the want of that eternal
knowledge, so far as I can conceive, that makes any person mourn here on
the earth. If this conveys the idea to you, as it does to me, it will
satisfy me.
Mourning for the righteous dead springs from the ignorance and
weakness that are planted within the mortal tabernacle, the organization
of this house for the spirit to dwell in. No matter what pain we suffer,
no matter what we pass through, we cling to our mother earth, and dislike
to have any of her children leave us. We love to keep together the social
family relation that we bear one to another, and do not like to part with
each other; but could we have knowledge and see into eternity, if we were
perfectly free from the weakness, blindness, and lethargy with which we
are clothed in the flesh, we should have no disposition to weep or mourn.
Perhaps it is not proper for me to make a few remarks with regard to
this day's operations. Funeral ceremonies have often borne upon my mind
with considerable, I will say, weight, and especially since I came into
the vestry at the time appointed for the services to commence. I have
often reflected with regard to paying particular respect to that which is
useless, to that which is nothing at all to us. And while waiting in the
vestry, I was pondering upon how many bands of music attended Jesus to the
tomb, upon what the procession was, how many wore crape, who mourned, and
the situation of the mourners.
There are but few of us but what have been honored with as convenient
a place for a birth as was Jesus, though I presume that his mother was
comparatively comfortable while lieing on the hay in the manger; there are
but few of us but what have had the privilege of a house to be born in.
I was reflecting upon how many there were to lament and mourn for Him
when he went out of the world; and the few that did mourn had to make
their escape, like going on to Ensign Peak; they had to stand afar off to
mourn, and durst not be seen near the place of the crucifixion. When the
body had hung on the cross until night, Joseph begged the privilege of
taking it down and carrying it to the tomb.
I was reflecting further. Suppose brother Grant could speak to us
this day, he would deprecate to the lowest degree the fuss and parade we
are making. He would say, "Away with you; stop your blowing of horns,
beating of drums, and hoisting of colors. Give my body a place to lay and
rest, and do not consider me better than other men. Take my body and bury
it deep enough, so that it can rest where the floods cannot wash it out,
where is can remain until the trumpet sounds, when I may awake up and help
you again.
Perhaps it is not proper for me to make these remarks, yet I hope
they will not injure the feelings of any one. But I say to each and every
one of you, whether I die in this city, or wherever I die, when my spirit
leaves my body, know ye that that tabernacle is of no use, until the
command comes for it to be resurrected; and I do not want you to cry over
it, nor make any parade, but give me a good place where my bones can rest,
that have been weary for many years, and have delighted to labor until
nearly worn out; and then go home about your business, and think no more
about me, except you think of me in the spirit world, as I do about
Jedediah.
I have not felt, for one minute, that Jedediah is dead; I feel he is
with us just as much as he was a week or a month ago.
The few words I say will perhaps be a consolation to you, and perhaps
not, but I tell you some of my feelings and views.
I want you all to remember this; when I die, let your flags remain in
their proper places, omit your parade, and lay me away where I can rest.
And I do not wish any of you to cry and feel badly, but prepare yourselves
to fight the devils while you live, and after you pass through the vail;
and let me tell you, that there we will do a great deal more than we can
here.
Another thing I want to promise you, every one of you, if you will be
faithful; I promise it to myself. True, brother Grant was a great help to
me; he stood by me, and was willing to come and go, and to do whatever was
requested of him, in order to take the burden from me; but I tell you that
we will have not only four, but an hundred fold for him, just as good, and
so we will for every good man that lies down; I promise you that. Brother
Grant we call a great man, a giant, a lion; but let me tell you that the
young whelps are growing up here who will roar louder than ever he dare,
and instead of there being two, or three, or four, there are hundreds of
them.
Perhaps many of you will think I am not correct in my views, that I
am enthusiastic, that I am mistaken; but let me tell you that the very
sons of these women that sit here will rise up and be as great as any man
that ever lived, and as far beyond Jedediah, or myself, and brother Heber,
as we are in the Gospel beyond our little children. I am not going to
gather the lions of the forest from the sectarian world, that is not where
I am going to get them, but the mothers in Israel are going to rear them.
They will raise hundreds and thousands that will know more about the
things of God in twenty years than Jedediah did in his lifetime, which was
forty years. Will they know more than I do? Yes.
I do not make any calculation, and never did, but that my boys who
are now growing up will be as far beyond me, at my age, as I am beyond the
knowledge I had in my infancy. We will not mourn for that, will we? No.
For one I am comforted, if I can overcome the weakness that is upon me,
which is the result of ignorance; that pertains to the flesh--to fallen
nature. The cause of mourning does not pertain to God, nor to the things
of God, but arises from the weakness of human nature.
When we lose such men as we have since we came into the valleys of
the mountains, such men as brother Whitney, brother Willard, brother
Jedediah, brother Orson Spencer, and many others, it is a matter of
regret.
Brother Grant can now do ten times more than if he was in the flesh;
do you want to know how? He is in the spirit world, he has conquered
death and hell, and will the grave, when he again assumes his body. He is
no more subject to the devils that dwell in the infernal regions; he
commands them, and they must go at his bidding; he can move them just as I
can move my hand. Do you know how that is done? It is done by the
principle in me that is called will, which principle God has planted in
all intelligences according to the capacity bestowed upon them. That
intelligence is in us; we may call it will; it is the power of life in
every creature and in all intelligences, and by that power I stretch out
my arm and bring it to me again at my pleasure, I look to the right or to
the left, and I speak according to the dictates of my will. When I govern
myself, I do this or that, I rise up to go to that city and return again,
I sit down and rise up, and do what I please.
When men overcome as our faithful brethren have, and go where they
see Joseph, who will dictate them and be their head and Prophet all the
time, they have power over all disembodied evil spirits, for they have
overcome them. Those evil spirits are under the command and control of
every man that has had the Priesthood on him, and has honored it in the
flesh, just as much as my hand is under my control.
Do you not think that brother Jedediah can do more good than he could
here? When he was here the devils had power over his flesh, he warred
with them and fought them, and said that they were around him by millions,
and he fought them until he overcame them. So it is with you and I. You
never felt a pain and ache, or felt disagreeable, or uncomfortable in your
bodies and minds, but what an evil spirit was present causing it. Do you
realize that the ague, the fever, the chills, the severe pain in the head,
the plurisy [sic], or any pain in the system, from the crown of the head
to the soles of the feet, is put there by the devil? You do not realize
this, do you?
I say but little about this matter, because I do not want you to
realize it. When you have the rheumatism, do you realize that the devil
put that upon you? No, but you say, "I got wet, caught cold, and thereby
got the rheumatism." The spirits that afflict us and plant disease in our
bodies, pain in the system, and finally death, have control over us so far
as the flesh is concerned. But when the spirit is unlocked from the body
it is free from the power of death and Satan; and when that body comes up
again, it also, with the spirit, will gain the victory over death, hell,
and the grave.
When the spirit leaves the tabernacle of flesh and goes into the
spirit world, it has control over every evil influence with which it comes
in contact, and when it takes up the body again, then the body also, with
the spirit, will have control over every evil spirit that is in a
tabernacle, if there is any such being, just as far as the spirit that has
the Priesthood had control over evil spirits.
Perhaps you do not understand me. Take a spirit that has gone into
the spirit world, does it have control over corruptible bodies? No. It
can only act in the capacity of a spirit. As to the devils inhabiting
these earthly bodies, it cannot control them, it only controls spirits.
But when the spirit is again united to the body, that spirit and body
unitedly have control over the evil bodies, those controlled by the devil
and given over to the devils, if there is any such thing. Resurrected
beings have control over matter as well as spirit.
Brother Grant's body which lies here is useless, is good for nothing
until it is resurrected, and merely needs a place in which to rest; his
spirit has not fled beyond the sun. There are millions and millions of
spirits in these valleys, both good and evil. We are surrounded with more
evil spirits than good ones, because more wicked than good men have died
here; for instance, thousands and thousands of wicked Lamanites have laid
their bodies in these valleys. The spirits of the just and unjust are
here. The spirits that were cast out of heaven, which you know are
recorded to have been one-third part, were thrust down to this earth, and
have been here all the time, with Lucifer, the Son of the Morning, at
their head.
When a good man or woman dies, the spirit does not go to the sun or
the moon. I have often told you that the spirits go to God who gave them,
and that He is everywhere; if God is not everywhere, will you please tell
me where He is not. The moment your eyes are opened upon the spirit land,
you will find yourselves in the presence of God, for as David says, "If
you take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the
earth, He is there; and if you make your bed in hell, behold He is there."
You are in the presence of God, and when your eyes are opened you
will understand it. Brother Grant's spirit is in the presence of God; and
he is with Joseph, when he is not required to be somewhere else. He is at
work for the benefit of Zion, for that is all the business that Joseph and
the Elders of this Church have on hand.
You and I have yet to deal with evil spirits, but Jedediah has
control over them. When we have done with the flesh, and have departed to
the spirit world, you will find that we are independent of those evil
spirits. But while you are in the flesh you will suffer by them, and
cannot control them, only by your faith in the name of Jesus Christ and by
the keys of the eternal Priesthood. When the spirit is unlocked from the
tabernacle it is as free, pure, holy, and independent of them as the sun
is of this earth. Jedediah can now do more for us than he could by longer
staying here.
Where do you suppose the spirits of our departed friends are? Where
they ought to be; they are here, on the other side of the earth, in the
East Indies, in Washington, &c.; they are controlling the fallen spirits
here, or somewhere else. They could not control the spirits of evil men
while here, only by faith, but now one of our departed brethren can
control millions of disembodied evil spirits; while they were in the flesh
they were afflicted by them. Is this not a great consolation to us? Some
one may ask me for the proof for my statements, and may enquire whether it
is in the Bible; yes, every word of it. I could prove it every word from
that book, but I do not need to go to the Bible, my scripture is within
me.
Brother Kimball could tell what I will now just touch upon better
than I can, for he heard it; I will, however, say a few words about it. A
short time before his death, brother Jedediah went to the world of spirits
two nights in succession, and saw perfect order amongst them. He saw many
of the Saints whom he was acquainted with, and saw his wife Caroline and
his child that was buried on the route across the Plains, and dug up and
eaten by the wolves. She said to him, "Here is my child; you know it was
eaten up by the wolves, but it is here, and has taken no harm." It was
the spirit of the child he saw. He came back to his body, but did not
like to enter it again, for he saw that it was filthy and corrupt. He
also told how his brethren and family felt, when he told them what he saw
in the spirit world. He said that his friends felt like saying, "Well
brother Grant, may be it is so, and may be it is not so; we do not know
anything about it."
You know nothing about what I am telling you concerning the spirit
world any more than brother Grant's friends knew about what he told them.
Why? Because we are encumbered with this flesh, we are in darkness; the
flesh is the vail that is over the nations. When we go from the body, we
have eyes to see spiritual things and understand them.
I have not answered my feelings, and cannot, owing to the lateness of
the hour. It wanted but five minutes to twelve when I began to speak, and
it is now time to bring the services to a close.
I hope you will remember what I have said, for it is true; and if you
do not, I hope it will be told to you until you do. May God bless you.
Amen.
PROPHETS WEEP BECAUSE OF THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE--ONE GENERATION SHOULD
IMPROVE UPON THE EXPERIENCE OF ANOTHER--MANY SET THEIR HEARTS ON
PERISHABLE
THINGS--PROVISIONS ARE MADE FOR THE EXALTATION OF ALL--THE SPIRIT
SHOULD
RULE THE FLESH--LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF MAN--PHENOMENON OF
FORGETFULNESS--NATURAL PHILOSOPHY--EMIGRATION.
A Discourse, by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, February 1, 1857.
Let the congregation be as still as possible.
I wish to occupy a short time in speaking to you, and I am not able
to talk with the ease that I could wish, for my health has for some time
obliged me to confine myself pretty closely to my rooms. This is the
first time that I have walked so far as to come to this Tabernacle since
the burial of Jedediah M. Grant. My bodily afflictions would not permit
me to walk much, and they also still hinder my efforts in speaking or
exercising. I have been troubled this winter as are many in this high
altitude, with a rising of the blood to the head; that is what is
troubling me this morning, insomuch that I hardly felt able to get here.
Aided by the faith and prayers of the Saints, I will endeavour to
speak so that you can hear me, and to edify you according to the best of
my ability.
I have a great desire to teach people the way of life and salvation;
I have been occupied in that labour for many years. It has been my chief
business to instruct the inhabitants of the earth how they can secure unto
themselves eternal life. The more I become acquainted with the principles
pertaining to salvation, and the more strictly I adhere to them, the more
importance I attach to them.
If I do not always view people as they really are, yet I see them
partially as they are, perhaps, as looking through a glass darkly, and in
the vision of my mind, looking at this people called Latter-day Saints,
and leaving out the residue of the inhabitants of the earth, to give vent
to my understanding, I could cry aloud and weep before the Lord. It
appears to me that very many, in their understandings, according to the
past conduct of the people, leaving out the present, are too much like
brute beasts, or like the door on its hinges, which opens and shuts as it
is acted upon, and is insensible. This appears to be the situation of
some of the people.
Sometimes this seems strange and inconsistent, knowing that mankind
are organized to receive and continue to receive, and that receiving one
fact in the understanding does not deprive them in the least of receiving
another. There is no heathen nation but what expects their posterity to
improve in all the knowledge they possess, and that is required by the
parents. But the Christian nations with whom we have been associated,
boast of their intelligence, suppose that they are exhibiting great
knowledge, and that it towers to the heavens, and expect their children to
improve in all the arts and sciences in their possession.
When people have the privilege of securing to themselves eternal
exaltation, when the words of eternal life are given to them, what a pity
it is that they do not understand, how liable they are to fall out by the
way, and that this is necessary in this state of probation. Place before
some persons that which their appetites crave and require, and they will
forsake every other thing, even their best friends. They will contend
against their best friends and benefactors, in order to glut their
appetites. When I look at this people, to say nothing about any people
but the Latter-day Saints, if I have a correct understanding, some few of
them look to me to be much like what we call brute beasts. The people are
instructed, from their youth, that there is no end to their learning.
They are taught by their parents and by their teachers that they can
continue to learn, that they can store up knowledge, treasure up the
wisdom of the world, and never see the time, although they shall live to
the age of Methusela or older, but what they can add to their store of
knowledge.
When I apply these principles to the Latter-day Saints, it would seem
that when they are once filled, when they are once fed upon the words of
eternal life until their souls are satisfied, they conclude that that meal
will last for ever. They think they will never require any more, and so
they become empty, faint, wearied, dull, stupid, and before they are aware
of it, they need a spirit of reformation; they need a fresh manifestation
of the power of God to stir them up and waken them out of their sleep, to
remove the scales from their eyes, to arouse them from their lethargy.
And when again awakened, they begin to see that they have been without
food; then they can realize that they have neglected the more weighty
matters. I ask the Latter-day Saints, is such the case? Is it true that
any of the Elders of Israel, with their wives and children, neglect the
things of God, and turn to the paltry, corruptible things of earth, and
let their affections and feelings be attracted from holy principles, and
placed on objects of no moment? You can answer this question at your
leisure.
You that see and understand things as they are, you who can obtain
the visions of eternity, whose minds soar aloft to things beyond this vale
of tears, how does it appear to you? Do you feel as though you can weep
over the people? Whether you do or not, that is my feeling. To observe
for what trifling things men and women will turn away from the spirit of
the holy Gospel, after travelling a few hundred miles with, perhaps, a few
little trials to pass through, such as being perplexed with wild cattle in
their teams, with misfortunes and losses; and they thirst, thirst greedily
for the vain and foolish things of the world, and neglect the Spirit and
principles of the holy Gospel. It has killed them spiritually to pass
through those sorrows, privations, and trials.
You may ponder these ideas in your hearts, at your leisure. Such
conduct is one of the most astonishing things to me that ever I have
experienced or beheld; yet I have reasons for thinking that I understand
the natural causes why the people are as they are.
I flattered myself years ago, that whoevever [sic] embraced the
doctrine of salvation would so live as to enter in at the straight gate,
in this, however, I have been mistaken. If we this day had congregated
the vast multitudes that have taken upon them the name of Christ, that
have entered into the new and everlasting covenant to serve the Lord our
God, those who have embraced the Gospel of salvation that has been
revealed through His Prophet and Seer in the last days, and then selected
out those who still stand firm in the faith, you would find that but a
small portion of the vast congregation had kept the faith; far the
greatest number would be on the left hand. If you were to inquire of them
individually, "after you heard the Gospel, believed and embraced it, did
you think you would ever leave the faith?" every man and woman would
reply, "No, no; I will believe and obey until death; no power on earth
shall deprive me of the blessings of the Gospel that I have embraced; for
it I have sacrificed my all."
Again, would not thousands that have forsaken their fathers, mothers,
children, or companions, for the sake of the Gospel, but are now enveloped
in the spirit of the world, when asked whether they know this Gospel to be
true, reply, "We believe it;" and when asked whether Joseph Smith was a
Prophet, reply, "We believe it?" Ask such persons why they do not gather
with the Saints, and the ten thousand obstacles that would be presented
would tower up like mountains and keep them from gathering. Ask them why
they do not pay their tithing, and they have ten thousand excuses and
reasons to render. Inquire why they do not do something for the Gospel,
and instruct them if they cannot pay their tithing, nor gather with the
Saints, to go and preach to their neighbours, and they will say to you,
"O, my neighbours are pretty well off, they are good people; here are the
Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, &c., and they are good people, and I
really do not feel it my duty to preach to them." Where are such persons?
They are in darkness, they have apostatized. Another great class you will
find have come out in open rebellion to the faith, to those principles
they once testified they knew to be true, and that too by the power of the
Holy Ghost.
Now leave that vast multitude, and come to this place. Here is the
gathering of the people; here is the carcass, and the eagles gather to
this place; here they are by thousands and scores of thousands. Look
through this vast multitude before me, and through the inhabitants of this
Territory, and then go to the United States and to Europe, and the Islands
of the sea, and gather up all who profess to be Latter-day Saints, and how
many of them are there in the way to enter into the straight gate? How
many are going to be crowned with the Gods? You will all admit that this
is a hard question to answer. Do you think one half of them will enter in
at the straight gate, pass by the angels and the Gods, and receive a
celestial exaltation? I pray they may, even if I do not believe so.
Is there any person deprived of this privilege? No, not one. Has
the Lord cast an obstacle in the way of any individual, to deprive him of
the privilege of being exalted? No, not one: but every thing that could
be done has been done, every provision that could be made has been made,
every law that could be instituted to encourage and elevate the people, to
increase their faith, their knowledge, their understanding, and to lead
them to life and salvation, the Lord has brought to this people. Then the
Lord is not to blame. Are angels to blame? Are they hindering the
people? No. Are the spirits of the just casting stumbling blocks before
the people, or tying their hands, or turning them away from the right
path? No.
Do you think that one half of the people walk up to every known duty,
are so doing and labouring that they are in the straight and narrow path
that leads to the lives? Answer this question at your leisure. Yet every
person will acknowledge that every thing the Lord could do for our
salvation has been done. All heaven is anxious that the people should be
saved. The heavens weep over the people, because of their hard
heartedness, unbelief, and slowness to believe and act.
You have been taught, all the day long, that you are in a world of
sin; you have been taught, all your lives, that the seeds of sin are sown
in your mortal bodies; you have been taught that the spirit warreth
against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit; that the spirit of
every man and woman that gets into the celestial kingdom must overcome the
flesh, must war against the flesh until the seeds of sin that are sown in
the flesh are brought into subjection to the law of Christ. This has been
taught you, from your youth up. There is not a society in Christendom but
what has taught these principles, and you have read them in your Bibles
when you were children. Your mothers taught you that we were in a world
of sin, and that the enemy of righteousness is all the time ready and
watching to overcome every individual. You reply at once, "We believe
this doctrine," and yet, from day to day, from week to week, from month to
month, from year to year, we go on as we have. Some will say, "I did give
way to my evil passion yesterday, and I will give way again to-day, and I
will let the flesh overcome the spirit. I will bring my spirit into
subjection to my evil passions and evil influences that the enemy of
Christ has sown in the human system. I will let the tongue speak just
what it pleases; I will rail out against my neighbour; when I get mad I
will blaspheme; I will deceive my brother, or my neighbour," and thus they
bring the spirit into subjection to the flesh, until the Lord Almighty
will withdraw the light of truth from those individuals, and they are
left, if not to apostatize, to deny Joseph as a Prophet, Jesus Christ as
the Saviour, and to esteem Holy Writ and all the revelations from God as a
burlesque. They are left in the dark, to welter in sorrow in the flesh,
and in the spirit world they never can be exalted.
Is it, then, any marvel, that those who dwell in the heavens should
weep over the people? Do you wonder, now, that the Prophets used to weep
over the people in ancient times? That Joseph used to weep over the
people in his day? If you do, I do not.
Here is a large number of the Latter-day Saints situated upon the
mountain tops, and right before each individual is eternal day or eternal
night; eternal light or eternal darkness; eternal love or eternal hatred;
eternal glory or eternal misery. This would want a great deal of
explaining, to bring it down to your capacities, so that you can
understand; but I use one class of these expressions to convey an idea of
the opposite of the glory prepared for the very people now before me. The
Lord has done every thing He can do in justice and in truth; in His mercy
and in His longsuffering and kindness there is nothing He has neglected,
in order to put into the possession of this people power to secure to
themselves eternal day, eternal peace, instead of eternal misery. Eternal
glory, happiness, beauty, power, exaltation, excellency, and every good
thing are prepared for the Elders that now sit before me to enter into the
presence of the Father and the Son, where they could be exalted, sit with
the Gods, be crowned with immortality and eternal lives; become the
fathers, not only of many nations, but of an endless posterity; be the
framers, not only of a kingdom, but of an endless chain of kingdoms.
Nothing more can be done, than what has been done.
How many of those now looking on me will order their lives so that
they will secure to themselves eternal happiness an exaltation? Do you
think that one half of this congregation will answer that question? I
pray that they may, whether I believe it or not.
Do you see people neglect their eternal welfare? A feeling prevails
with some that, "we do not know these things, we have not seen these
things, we do not understand that there is a kingdom prepared for the
faithful; we do not understand that there is a place prepared for those
that are unruly, those that disbelieve, those that neglect the truth and
the Gospel when put in their possession. We do not know anything about
these things." Is this so? What do you say, brethren and sisters? Have
you seen the Father and the Son? Do you know where they live? "O, no."
Have you seen the courts of glory, have they been opened to your view?
"O, no." What next? The spirit of unbelief takes place in your hearts.
The enemy, the evil that is in the world, that has caused the trouble,
sorrow, and perplexity, is with you, is your constant companion, and is
continually suggesting that you know nothing about these things,
consequently, without the utmost care and exercise of faith, and close
application in life of the requirements of heaven, you are left to drink
into the spirit of infidelity.
In this manner people are left in darkness, do not understand the
things of God, neglect their salvation, and go grovelling and feeling
their way through this world, without a ray of light to shine on their
path; hoping that there is a God, and, if there is, that He will be
merciful to them; thinking that, if there is a heaven, they want to go
there; if there is such a character as a Saviour, they hope his blood will
atone for their sins; and if there are any such beings as angels, they
hope they will pick them up, by and bye. It resolves itself to this, "If
there is a God, O, be merciful to me." You do not know, do you? "O, no,
we cannot realize it."
Let me ask a question, before I proceed further. How did you feel
when the Spirit of the Gospel first entered into your hearts, when the
light of the Gospel first shone in your understanding? Had you any such
feelings then within you? Had you any doubts? How did you talk, when you
first rose to testify that the Book of Mormon was true, that Joseph was a
true Prophet, that this work was of God, that the Lord Almighty has
revealed Himself in these our days? Had you any doubts? "No, I could not
help bearing testimony to those things, I was so full of light and peace."
Did you hate anybody, at that time? "No. I was filled with peace and
union; I loved God and all the works of His hands. There was no anger,
malice, or wrath in me." Do you feel so now? Many of you would tell me,
"no." Have you abode in that Spirit and feeling? You will answer, "no."
You say within yourselves, "I believe the Gospel, I believe the Lord
has revealed the truth concerning Himself, concerning the Son, concerning
angels, salvation, eternal exaltation, &c.; I admit all this to be true."
Then you have to admit that we are organized to inherit all glory, power,
and excellency; to be filled with eternal salvation and exaltation, and to
become the sons of God, as the Apostle says, to be "gods, even the sons of
God;" fathers who shall endure, and whose posterity shall never end;
though the Apostle turned the point very quick, because the people were
not prepared to receive it. You admit the fact that we are organized
expressly for the purpose of being exalted with the Gods.
You have the words of eternal life in your possession. What next?
Take your own philosphy [sic]; if I am organized and capacitated to
receive this glory and this exaltation, I must be the friend of Him who
has brought me forth and instituted this exaltation for me; I must not be
His enemy at any time. Again, you say, "we are organized to become Gods,
even sons of God; to act independently." You expect to see the time when
you will have at your control worlds on worlds, if your existence endures.
Take Abraham, for instance, you can read the promise made to him, and
again to Jesus. "Now," say you, "we are to have kingdoms, thrones,
principalities, powers, dominions, &c." Can you read it in this book?
This is the Old and New Testament, which you and I were taught, from our
youth, to believe is the word of God. If I am to receive these blessings
I will be an independent character, like those who dwell in eternity. If
this is the case, let me pause for a moment and use my own natural
philosophy. How can I prove myself the friend of God, who has placed all
this glory within my reach, unless His influences are withdrawn from me,
to see whether or not I will be His friend? At the time when you receive
the greatest blessings by the manifestations of the power and Spirit of
God, immediately the Lord may leave you to yourselves, that you may prove
yourselves worthy of this exaltation. Multitudes, on the right hand and
on the left, when this Spirit and power are withdrawn from them, sink into
unbelief, and do not know whether there is a God, or not. Ask them, "What
did you realize and experience yesterday?" The reply is, "I do not know
anything about it. I can see this house, I can see the sun, I can see men
and women, but I can say no more." "Do you believe what you believed
yesterday?" "I do not know."
Can a man be exalted upon any other principle? When men are left to
themselves, it is then they manifest their integrity, by saying and
feeling, "I am the friend of God. Do all people realize that? If they
did, let me tell you, they would cling fast to their integrity. When the
mind of a righteous man is beclouded by darkness, when he does not know
the first thing about the religion he believes in, it is because the vail
is dropped so that he may act on the organization of his own individual
person, which is calculated to be as independent as the Gods, in the end.
When you are fully aware of this, then you are ready to lay down your
lives for the cause of God and for His people, if you act on your own
integrity and philosophy.
One of the greatest trials that ever came on the Son of God when he
was in the flesh, upon that man whom we hold as our Saviour, was when the
mob had him in their possession. They spit on him, scourged him, mocked
him, and made a wreath of thorns and placed it upon his head, (and I will
insure that it was so placed on his head as to cause the blood to start)
and said to him, "Here is your cross, you poor, worthless scamp, take and
carry it on to that hill, for there we are going to nail you to it." How
would you feel in such a time, and at that very hour and moment when this
tabernacle suffers, should the Father then withdraw Himself and say, "Now,
my son, I will see whether you will prove yourself worthy or not." Did he
walk up the hill? He did, and carried the cross until he fainted under
it; then they took it and went on, and he submitted patiently to the will
of his Father.
Will you submit patiently to the will of your Father in the hour of
darkness? Will you say that you are the friends of God? O shame! Many
of you will not say so, in the hour of darkness. Take these Latter-day
Saints, the Elders of Israel, and let many of them pass where they can
hear the name of Jesus Christ and the name of their Father and God
blasphemed, and they will pass along as unconcerned, and will never move a
muscle nor a nerve of their systems. That is nothing to them compared to
what it would be to have their own dear name spoken against in the least.
Speak against William, John, or Thomas, and then you will see the fire of
resentment roused in that individual; while, at the same time, they may be
opposed to their Father and God, to their Saviour, to the Prophet, and to
their holy religion. People may scandalize these as much as the tongue of
slander can, and not a word said, nor a look of disapprobation given.
But, my dear brethren, those holy men and women, (pardon me if I burlesque
the idea a little) your names are so dear to you that, let any one speak a
word against them, you are at once for fight.
If you want to know what you should do, when you hear a man blaspheme
the name of God, and you feel that there are ten thousand million devils
around you to see whether you will be for your religion, knock down the
man that blasphemes, and say, "If I cannot pray, I can fight for my
religion and my God." When you are in darkness is the time for you to
exhibit your integrity, and to prove that you are the friends of Him who
has called you to this glory and eternal life.
Do you want to know how to pray in your families? I have told you, a
great many times, how to do when you feel as though you have not a
particle of the Spirit of prayer with you. Get your wives and your
children together, lock the door so that none of them will get out, and
get down on your knees; and if you feel as though you want to swear and
fight, keep on your knees until they are pretty well wearied, saying,
"Here I am; I will not abuse my Creator nor my religion, though I feel
like hell inside, but I will stay on my knees until I overcome these
devils around me." That will prove to me that you are the friend of God,
that you are filled with integrity. This is good for every person to
practise in the hour of trial and darkness. Say, "I am the friend of God,
and if you abuse Him, I shall abuse you." This is what Abraham used to
do. He would take his servants and go out, once in a while, and chastise
the poor, miserable characters that ridiculed the Priesthood that was on
him.
Here are the people that say they are Latter-day Saints. Now, if you
can understand your own position, you will know, perhaps, better how to
deal with yourselves and control yourselves; how to bring into subjection
your own dispositions, your passions, appetites, and wills, and let the
Spirit commence and conquer and overcome, little by little, until you gain
the mastery in the spirit. This prepares the tabernacle for a
resurrection and eternal life. You cannot inherit eternal life, unless
your appetites are brought in subjection to the spirit that lives within
you, that spirit which our Father in heaven gave. I mean the Father of
your spirits, of those spirits which He has put into these tabernacles.
The tabernacle must be brought in subjection to the spirit perfectly, or
your bodies cannot be raised to inherit eternal life; if they to
[sic-phrase] come forth, they must dwell in a lower kingdom. Seek
diligently, until you bring all into subjection to the law of Christ.
As to the knowledge of the people, what do they know? They know many
things. What do they not know? Ten thousands of millions of times more
than they know, for, comparatively speaking, they know but little. What
knowledge we have, we have obtained by an experience. No man could know
that he could build a building, unless he was to go to work and try. Were
he to go to work and erect a building, he would then know that he knew how
to do it.
Some things you do know, and there are a great many things that you
do not know. "Can you mention anything that we do not know?" Yes, we
could enumerate a great many things, and then have mentioned only a small
portion of what is unknown to man. I will take that class of this
congregation that do not know anything about God, heaven, earth, or hell,
nor about anything else only as they sense with their natural senses, and
ask them, can you tell me your own origin? I would be glad to see such a
person, but he is not to be found. Take a man who does not know anything
about these things, and he cannot tell his origin.
Again, with all the wisdom there is in the world, I can refer you to
another thing which you do not know; you do not know how to take the
native elements and organize a body like the ones you possess. You may
take the chemical apparatus of the most extensive laboratory, and go into
these mountains, and see whether you can, with all your knowledge and
appliances, make a human body that can breathe, to say nothing about the
spirit: you cannot do that; then you do not know how.
If we were to ask the question how we came here, we cannot answer it.
We know that we are here, and we know that we live. We know that we see,
hear, smell, &c., through the the [sic] organization of our senses. We
know that when we have something good to eat, and plenty of it, that we
can satisfy our appetite, and we also know that we get hungry again; we
get sleepy, awake, and go about our business. The brute beasts know all
this, although their sensitive powers are not so acute, nor possessed of
so extensive a range as are those of the human family; their attention
more particularly belongs to the things of this earth.
The Scriptures say that man is created but a little lower than the
angels, still the great majority do not know whether there is a God; they
do not even know whether it is of any use to pray to our Father in heaven,
nor whether they have got a Father there. We do not know how to make a
spear of grass grow on the earth, nor a tree, nor any other kind of
vegetation; all this is beyond our knowledge. They grow, but we do not
understand how. They are produced from the elements, but undertake to
organize the elements and make a cucumber grow, and we fail; that is
beyond our knowledge.
We do know, by observation, that this earth revolves on its axis,
that it has its circuit and performs its annual times. We know, by
observation, that the firmament is filled with small flickering lights.
The astronomer says he knows that many of those lights are actually suns
to solar systems, the same as our sun is to us. Does he know that? Has
he been there to see? "No." Then he may be deceived; men's eyes are
often deceived. They have had their eyes, ears, and all the other
sensitive organs brought to bear upon a person, and have been positive
that they were conversing with and looking upon him, when at the same time
that person was a hundred miles from them; they were certain that they
heard him speak with their natural ears, yet they were deceived. So the
astronomer may be deceived by his powerful glasses. But all the argument
in the world could not make you believe that those stars, or lights, were
not there; you see them. Suppose that our optical powers have all been
deceived, just as they are in some instances. There is plenty of proof
that the optic nerve has been deceived, even through a glass, persons
supposing that they saw things which they, in reality, never did see.
Upon natural principles, leaving out the light of the Spirit, the
light of revelation, or saying that there is no God, and such being the
case, on the natural philosophy of the natural world, and the natural
belief, and ideas of those who imbibe deistical principles, they do not
know whether it is the sun or not that shines upon us; they feel warm,
they think they see the sun. But if your optic nerve may deceive you, so
the astronomer may be deceived. "No," says he, "I cannot be deceived,"
and this congregation says, "We cannot be deceived; we know that we hear
you preach to-day; we see you in the stand to-day, and all the earth
cannot make us believe to the contrary." May be you are deceived. "But
we cannot be mistaken in this, we do know that it is certain." Suppose
that you go home and to-night sleep very soundly, and that perchance a a
[sic] stupor should come over you, causing you to forget what has
transpired to-day; I have known such circumstances. Suppose you forget
to-morrow what has transpired to-day in this Tabernacle, and somebody
should come along and ask you whether you recollected what brother Brigham
said yesterday, you would answer, "I did not hear him say anything." It
would be said, "You were at the meeting, and I saw you." You would ask,
"What meeting? I was not at any meeting." "Don't you recollect of going
to meeting yesterday?" "No, I do not." Did you ever know a person so
forgetful as this? Well, it is not more strange than much other
forgetfulness, not a particle more.
A child says, "Mother, where did you put those shears, or that
knitting? or, what did you do with your pipe?" The reply is, "I laid it
up." "But you must have had it since." "Don't dispute me, child," while
all the time she had the pipe in her mouth. I bring up these small
things, to compare with greater things. Have you never laid things
carefully away and entirely forgotten them, and, when you have
accidentally found them, had all the circumstances opened to your mind,
and said, "O, I know all about them now, but I have never before been able
to bring them to mind, since the things were so carefully laid by"? That
is no more strange than it is that you should forget what the Lord has
done for you fifty years ago; that is no more strange, than it is for you
to forget when your spirits came into your bodies, for you came here under
a covenant to prove yourselves, in a day of darkness, to be friends of
God, and under a covenant that you would forget everything that had past
previous to your coming here.
What do you know? All that you know, aside from what God has taught
you, is not worth much to you; that I will say on my own responsibility.
You know that the sun shines; you can see the stars shine in a clear
night. You know that when you embraced the Gospel of salvation in
England, the State of New York, Vermont, &c., you felt happy; that your
hearts were full of joy and peace; that you felt as though the heavens
smiled upon you, and that all around was glory. There was no malice,
wrath, or root of bitterness in you, but since then a cloud has come over
you, the vail has been dropped over the vision of your minds, and you have
been left to act for yourselves. You know all this.
What do you know on natural principles? I do not say natural
philosophy, because my religion is natural philosophy. You never heard me
preach a doctrine but what has a natural system to it, and, when
understood, is as easy to comprehend as that two and two equal four. All
the revelations of the Lord Almighty to the children of men, and all
revealed doctrines of salvation are upon natural principles, upon natural
philosophy. When I use this term, I use it as synonomous with the plan of
salvation; natural philosophy is the plan of salvation, and the plan of
salvation is natural philosophy. I need not say any more with regard to
what you do not know.
I have shown you, by instancing small circumstances of common
occurrence, that people are apt to deny to day what they knew yesterday;
and you know that you have disputed others with regard to these little
things which have transpired, after the circumstances connected therewith
had escaped your memory. It is just so with regard to your religion. And
when you come to the almighty philosophers, those who think they know so
much, they are in the same dilemma; their optic nerves and their glasses
may all deceive them. Unless a person is taught by the principle of
eternity, and is insured by those principles that dwell with the Gods, he
may be in doubt, because it is a doubtful case. All is doubtful, except
what comes from the Almighty in His revelations to His people.
I will now say something about our immigration this season. In the
providences of God when understood, you will see that one thing has a
bearing upon another. The providences of God are natural principles, when
they are all understood, but you take a little here and a little there,
and you leave the people in mystery and doubt, and they will say that
wonderful things have taken place, when at the same time you will find
that they have all transpired upon natural principles.
Previous to the death of Joseph, he said that the time would come
when the Saints would be glad to take a bundle, if they could get one,
under their arms and start to the mountains, and that they would flee
there, and that if they could pick up a change of linen they would be glad
to start with that, and to go into the wilderness with anything, in order
to escape from the destruction that is coming on the inhabitants of the
earth. This we believed, or at least I did; though it seemed to be pretty
hard that people should be obliged to leave their houses, farms, friends,
and comforts that they had gathered around them, and run from them all. I
am going to take that as a leading item for this season.
We have been experimenting. Five companies, I think, have come
across the Plains with hand-carts, and they have come a great deal cheaper
and better than other companies. I believe that if a company was to try
it once with ox-teams and once with hand-carts, every one of them would
decide in favour of the hand-carts, unless they could ride more and be
more comfortable than people generally are with ox-teams.
I count the hand-cart operation a successful one, and there is a
lesson in it which the people have overlooked. What is it? Let me ask
the sisters and brethren here, what better off are you to-day, than as
though you had started with a bundle under your arm? You started with an
abundance, but have you any oxen, or wagons, or trunks of valuable
clothing, or money? "No." What have you got? A sister says, "I have the
underclothes I wore on the Plains, and a dress, and a handkerchief which I
pinned over my head in the absence of my sun bonnets which were worn out,
and I am here." Are you here? "Yes." Did you come across the Plains?
"Yes." Do you feel bad? "O, no; I feel pretty well." Now reflect, what
else do we want of you, and what else do you want of yourselves? "Why,"
says one, "I want a dress and a pair of shoes." Well, go to work, and
earn them, and put them on and wear them. "I want a bonnet." Go to work
and earn it, and then wear it as you used to do.
What do you want here but yourselves? Nothing, but yourselves and
your religion; that is all you want to bring here. If you come naked and
barefooted, (I would not care if you had naught but a deer skin around you
when you arrive here) and bring your God and your religion, you are a
thousand times better than if you come with wagon loads of silver and gold
and left your God behind. If I want to take a wife from among the sisters
who came in with the hand-cart trains, I would rather take one that had
nothing, and say to her, I will throw a buckskin around you for the
present, come into my house, I have plenty, or, if I have not, I can get
plenty.
Some want to marry a woman because she has got property; some want a
rich wife; but I never saw the day when I would not rather have a poor
woman. I never saw the day that I wanted to be henpecked to death, for I
should have been, if I had married a rich wife. I asked one of my family,
when in conversation upon this very point, what did you bring, when you
came to me? "I brought a shirt, and a dress, and a pair of slippers, and
a sun-bonnet," and she is as high a prize as ever I got in my life, and a
great deal higher than many would have been with cart loads of silver and
gold.
The people are what we want. Reflect about this; and let the Elders
when they go upon Missions, sound this in the ears of the Saints; and, if
you please, philosophise upon it, weigh the matter well, and see what else
there is that is in reality good for anything, but just the Saint at the
gathering place; let the Saint come, and we have all we can get.
I want you to keep in mind what Joseph said, that the day would come
when the Saints would be glad to take a bundle under their arms and run to
the mountains. What else have they done this season? Men and women
started with their fine things, they had their gold and their silver,
their flocks and their herds, and their abundance, but they have nearly
all come here naked and bare footed, comparatively speaking; thank God for
that. What do I care, if not the first particle of the property that is
left behind is ever gathered up again? You are situated precisely as we
were when we left Nauvoo, Kirtland, Missouri, &c. We started naked and
bare. If I can only take myself and my God, and my religion, it is all I
want. The heavens are full, the earth is the Lord's, and we have nothing
to do but go to work and organize the elements and get what we want.
This is the day in which we are to learn and to increase in our
knowledge. Have we got a good lesson this time? I think we have. What
is it? That the Saints, when they start from England, may stop buying
their silks and satins, their ribbons and finery. You cannot bring them
here, unless Providence provides different for you, than it did for the
immigration last season. If you have a fine silk mantilla, a fine satin
dress, fine kid shoes, a fine lace bonnet, and you say that you want to
carry them to Zion, do as they did last season. Here are the poor we have
to bring over. Now let me tell you that if you had taken the money you
paid to William Walker to bring out the baggage, and used it for the
gathering of the honest poor, it would have done some good; but that
property is spoiled, I understand, and I am glad of it. Much of it was
spoiled before it was taken from Iowa City, or, if it was not then, it
probably is now. And I expect that the goods are all spoiled at the
Devil's Gate. You will pardon me for my abruptness, but I will tell you
what that operation made me think of, that what you did not leave in
hell's kitchen, you had to leave at the Devil's Gate. If you only honour
your God and your religion, the silks and the satins, and the money you
paid out for them, may all go to hell with the balance. Live your
religion, and the promise I make you is that you shall have what you want
in righteousness. "Then," some one may say, "I will have a new dress
to-morrow, if that is it." But will you not wait, until your patience is
well tried? If you will not, I will make you, if I can. At the proper
time, you will have all the riches you need. If you had riches now, they
would do you no good.
Recollect the text, which is that the time will come when the Saints
will be glad to catch a bundle under their arms and run to the mountains.
The time has been when they undertook to come with an abundance, but they
got here with nothing. Take the money that was laid out for those
articles which you expected to put on when you came into this Tabernacle,
and it would have more than made a comfortable fit-out for the companies
from the States. If those articles had been left in the stores, and you
had taken your sovereigns and half-sovereigns, and shillings, and pence,
you would have had enough to have brought all the companies over those
Plains. This is something that I want you Elders to think of; and I want
you to thunder it among the people, long and loud, like the thunders of
Mount Sinai.
Take the money heretofore spent for useless articles, and pick up
your poor neighbours who have not the first shilling; make your way to
Liverpool, pay your passage across the ocean to the United States, and
then take a hand-cart, or a good hickory stick between two, and put you
[sic] luggage on it, and let the hand cart go, and walk to Zion.
When you get here, we want nothing but yourselves, if you have your
God and your religion with you; but if you have not them, stay back. We
have already got enough half-hearted Christians here; we have enough poor
devils here now, and half-hearted hypocrites, and we do not want any more
of them to come here. All hell is boiling over to fill this place with
such poor, miserable characters.
If you bring yourselves, it is all we want. Take the money that
bought the goods which have been left on the way, and it would have
brought every soul that came in last season, without the assistance of the
P. E. Fund Company; and, instead of our paying out fifty or sixty thousand
dollars, that sum would have been saved. That money would have made your
fit-out across the Plains, to say nothing about what has been done for you
at this end of the route.
Again, we could have taken every soul that has come in this season
with the wagon trains, by the P. E. Fund, &c., and brought them from
Liverpool cheaper than we brought them out of the snow at this end of the
journey, to say nothing of the hardship and suffering. Do you not see
that there has been a great outlay that we must save hereafter?
I will say to the Saints abroad, if you can get some good hickory
cloth, or some buckskins, and let the sisters make dresses and garments
that cannot be easily torn, and that will last till you get here, and come
and bring yourselves, that is all we want. And for the time to come, let
the P. E. Fund money alone, and let your silks and satins alone, and take
the means you have, and bring yourselves to this place.
The Lord, in His providence, has shown you and me, and the community
in this Territory, and will show to the people in the old countries, if
the Elders are faithful, that they may bid farewell to bringing their
millions' worth of goods here. If they bring anything, let them bring
their sovereigns here; the gold will do them more good here than anything
else. Do not peddle it out in the world. Get the Lord to send an angel
with you; get His Holy Spirit to travel with you to this place, and leave
all trash behind.
If the companies are composed solely of young females, they may come
by tens of thousands, if they like, for I have never yet seen anything in
this market than can equal the hand-cart girls.
I want to see men and women come as I have suggested; and I think
just as much of them, if they come and bring their religion with them, as
though they came with cart-loads of gold, silver and merchandize.
I wish you to contemplate upon these things! and I want you to listen
to my exhortation in spiritual things. Here is a people before me that
say they are in a reformation; I believe it. There is a good spirit they
have now in their possession, which some have not had for some time.
I believe that the brethren and sisters are trying to do right, to
make satisfaction, and to order their lives better before God and each
other. And let me tell you that, when you have lived a whole life time,
you will find that you have never righteously had a single hour to spend
for anything except reformation, for an increase of faith, for a growth in
the knowledge of the truth. You have no time to backslide, nor to spare
for the world. It is God and His kingdom; all things else will be
secondary considerations.
I am happy for the privilege of speaking to you to-day, and I trust
that I shall see you here many times. I pray for you continually, and I
know that you pray for me. I do not ask this people to pray for me, for I
have the witness that there is not an honest heart in this kingdom but
what is praying for me continually. You are before me always, and my
whole desire is for your welfare, and the welfare of the kingdom of God on
the earth. May God bless you. Amen.
TO KNOW GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE--GOD THE FATHER OF OUR SPIRITS AND
BODIES--THINGS CREATED SPIRITUALLY FIRST--ATONEMENT BY THE SHEDDING OF
BLOOD.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, February 8, 1857.
I feel myself somewhat under obligations to come here and talk to the
people, inasmuch as I have absented myself for some time, and others have
occupied this stand.
Perhaps I will not talk to you long, but I desire to pursue some of
the ideas that brother Cummings has just laid before you. I can testify
that every word he has spoken is true, even to the advancement of the
Saints at a "small gallop." Though that is rather a novel expression,
still it is true, as well as all the rest which he advanced.
The items that have been advanced are principles of real doctrine,
whether you consider them so or not. It is one of the first principles of
the doctrine of salvation to become acquaint- [sic] with our Father and
our God. The Scriptures teach that this is eternal life, to "know Thee,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent;" this is as much
as to say that no man can enjoy or be prepared for eternal life without
that knowledge.
You hear a great deal of preaching upon this subject; and when people
repent of their sins, they will get together, and pray and exhort each
other, and try to get the spirit of revelation, try to have God their
Father revealed to them, that they may know Him and become acquainted with
Him.
There are some plain, simple facts that I wish to tell you, and I
have but one desire in this, which is, that you should have understanding
to receive them, to treasure them up in your hearts, to contemplate upon
these facts, for they are simple facts, based upon natural principles;
there is no mystery about them when once understood.
I want to tell you, each and every one of you, that you are well
acquainted with God our heavenly Father, or the great Eloheim. You are
all well acquainted with Him, for there is not a soul of you but what has
lived in His house and dwelt with Him year after year; and yet you are
seeking to become acquainted with Him, when the fact is, you have merely
forgotten what you did know. I told you a little last Sabbath about
forgetting things.
There is not a person here to-day but what is a son or a daughter of
that Being. In the spirit world their spirits were first begotten and
brought forth, and they lived there with their parents for ages before
they came here. This, perhaps, is hard for many to believe, but it is the
greatest nonsense in the world not to believe it. If you do not believe
it, cease to call Him Father; and when you pray, pray to some other
character.
It would be inconsistent in you to disbelieve what I think you know,
and then to go home and ask the Father to do so and so for you. The
Scriptures which we believe have taught us from the beginning to call Him
our Father, and we have been taught to pray to Him as our Father, in the
name of our eldest brother whom we call Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the
world; and that Saviour, while here on earth, was so explicit on the point
that he taught his disciples to call no man on earth father, for we have
one which is in heaven. He is the Saviour, because it is his right to
redeem the remainder of the family pertaining to the flesh on this earth,
if any of you do not believe this, tell us how and what we should believe.
If I am not telling you the truth, please to tell me the truth on this
subject, and let me know more than I do know. If it is hard for you to
believe, if you wish to be Latter-day Saints, admit the fact as I state
it, and do not contend against it. Try to believe it, because you will
never become acquainted with our Father, never enjoy the blessings of His
Spirit, never be prepared to enter into His presence, until you most
assuredly believe it; therefore you had better try to believe this great
mystery about God.
I do not marvel that the world is clad in mystery, to them He is an
unknown God; they cannot tell where He dwells nor how He lives, nor what
kind of a being He is in appearance or character. They want to become
acquainted with His character and attributes, but they know nothing of
them. This is in consequence of the apostacy that is now in the world.
They have departed from the knowledge of God, transgressed His laws,
changed His ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenant, so that the
whole earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof. Consequently it is
no mystery to us that the world knoweth not God, but it would be a mystery
to me, with what I now know, to say that we cannot know anything of Him.
We are His children.
To bring the truth of this matter close before you, I will instance
your fathers who made the first permanent settlement in New England.
There are a good many in this congregation whose fathers landed upon
Plymouth Rock in the year 1620. Those fathers began to spread abroad;
they had children, those children had children, and their children had
children, and here are we their children. I am one of them, and many of
this congregation belong to that class. Now ask yourselves this simple
question upon natural principles, has the species altered? Were not the
people who landed at Plymouth Rock the same species with us? Were they
not organized as we are? Were not their countenances similar to ours?
Did they not converse, have knowledge, read books? Were there not
mechanics among them, and did they not understand agriculture, &c., as we
do? Yes, every person admits this.
Now follow our fathers further back and take those who first came to
the island of Great Britain, were they the same species of beings as those
who came to America? Yes, all acknowledge this; this is upon natural
principles. Thus you may continue and trace the human family back to Adam
and Eve, and ask, "are we of the same species with Adam and Eve?" Yes,
every person acknowledges this; this comes within the scope of our
understanding.
But when we arrive at that point, a vail is dropt, and our knowledge
is cut off. Were it not so, you could trace back your history to the
Father of our spirits in the eternal world. He is a being of the same
species as ourselves; He lives as we do, except the difference that we are
earthly, and He is heavenly. He has been earthly, and is of precisely the
same species of being that we are. Whether Adam is the personage that we
should consider our heavenly Father, or not, is considerable of a mystery
to a good many. I do not care for one moment how that is; it is no matter
whether we are to consider Him our God, or whether His Father, or His
Grandfather, for in either case we are of one species--of one family--and
Jesus Christ is also of our species.
You may hear the divines of the day extol the character of the
Saviour, undertake to exhibit his true character before the people, and
give an account of his origin, and were it not ridiculous, I would tell
what I have thought about their views. Brother Kimball wants me to tell
it, therefore you will excuse me if I do. I have frequently thought of
mules, which you know are half horse and half ass, when reflecting upon
the representations made by those divines. I have heard sectarian priests
undertake to tell the character of the Son of God, and they make him half
of one species and half of another, and I could not avoid thinking at once
of the mule, which is the most hateful creature that ever was made, I
believe. You will excuse me, but I have thus thought many a time.
Now to the facts in the case; all the difference between Jesus Christ
and any other man that ever lived on the earth, from the days of Adam
until now, is simply this, the Father, after He had once been in the
flesh, and lived as we live, obtained His exaltation, attained to thrones,
gained the ascendancy over principalities and powers, and had the
knowledge and power to create--to bring forth and organize the elements
upon natural principles. This He did after His ascension, or His glory,
or His eternity, and was actually classed with the Gods, with the beings
who create, with those who have kept the celestial law while in the flesh,
and again obtained their bodies. Then He was prepared to commence the
work of creation, as the Scriptures teach. It is all here in the Bible; I
am not telling you a word but what is contained in that book.
Things were first created spiritually; the Father actually begat the
spirits, and they were brought forth and lived with Him. Then He
commenced the work of creating earthly tabernacles, precisely as He had
been created in this flesh himself, by partaking of the course material
that was organized and composed this earth, until His system was charged
with it, consequently the tabernacles of His children were organized from
the coarse materials of this earth.
When the time came that His first-born, the Saviour, should come into
the world and take a tabernacle, the Father came Himself and favoured that
spirit with a tabernacle instead of letting any other man do it. The
Saviour was begotten by the Father of His spirit, by the same Being who is
the Father of our spirits, and that is all the organic difference between
Jesus Christ and you and me. And a difference there is between our Father
and us consists in that He has gained His exaltation, and has obtained
eternal lives. The principle of eternal lives is an eternal existence,
eternal duration, eternal exaltation. Endless are His kingdoms, endless
His thrones and His dominions, and endless are His posterity; they never
will cease to multiply from this time henceforth and forever.
To you who are prepared to enter into the presence of the Father and
the Son, what I am now telling will eventually be no more strange than are
the feelings of a person who returns to his father's house, brethren, and
sisters, and enjoys the society of his old associates, after an absence of
several years upon some distant island. Upon returning he would be happy
to see his father, his relatives and friends. So also if we keep the
celestial law when our spirits go to God who gave them, we shall find that
we are acquainted there and distinctly realize that we know all about that
world.
Tell me that you do not know anything about God! I will tell you one
thing, it would better become you to lay your hands upon your mouths and
them in the dust, and cry, "unclean, unclean."
Whether you receive these things or not, I tell you them in
simplicity. I lay them before you like a child, because they are
perfectly simple. If you see and understand these things, it will be by
the Spirit of God; you will receive them by no other spirit. No matter
whether they are told to you like the thunderings of the Almighty, or by
simple conversation; if you enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, it will tell you
whether they are right or not.
I am acquainted with my Father. I am as confident that I understand
in part, see in part, and know and am acquainted with Him in part, as I am
that I was acquainted with my earthly father who died in Quincy, Illinois,
after we were driven from Missouri. My recollection is better with regard
to my earthly father than it is in regard to my heavenly Father; but as to
knowing of what species He is, and how He is organized, and with regard to
His existence, I understand it in part as well as I understand the
organization and existence of my earthly father. That is my opinion about
it, and my opinion to me is just as good as yours is to you; and if you
are of the same opinion you will be satisfied as I am.
I know my heavenly Father and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and this
is eternal life. And if we will do as we have been told this morning, if
you will enter into the Spirit of your calling, into the principle of
securing to yourselves eternal lives, eternal existence, eternal
exaltation, it will be well with you. But if, after being put into a
carriage and placed upon the road, after having everything prepared for
the journey that infinite wisdom could devise, this people stroll into the
swamp, get into the woods among the brambles and briars, and wander around
until night overtakes them, I say, shame on such people.
I am ashamed to talk about a reformation, for if you have entered
into the spirit of your religion, you will know whether these things are
so or not. If you have the spirit of your religion and have confidence in
you, walk along and continue to do so, and secure to yourselves the life
before you, and never let it be said, from this time henceforth, that you
have wakened out of your sleep, from the fact that you are always awake.
We talk about the reformation, but recollect that you have only just
commenced to walk in the way of life and salvation. You have just
commenced in the career to obtain eternal life, which is that which you
desire, therefore you have no time to spend only in that path. It is
straight and narrow, simple and easy, and is an Almighty path, if you will
keep in it. But if you wander off into swamps, or into brambles, and get
into darkness, you will find it hard to get back.
Brother Cummings told you the truth this morning with regard to the
sins of the people. And I will say that the time will come, and is now
nigh at hand, when those who profess our faith, if they are guilty of what
some of this people are guilty of, will find the axe laid at the root of
the tree, and they will be hewn down. What has been must be again, for
the Lord is coming to restore all things. The time has been in Israel
under the law of God, the celestial law, or that which pertains to the
celestial law, for it is one of the laws of that kingdom where our Father
dwells, that if a man was found guilty of adultery, he must have his blood
shed, and that is near at hand. But now I say, in the name of the Lord,
that if this people will sin no more, but faithfully live their religion,
their sins will be forgiven them without taking life.
You are aware that when brother Cummings came to the point of loving
our neighbours as ourselves, he could say yes or no as the case might be,
that is true. But I want to connect it with the doctrine you read in the
Bible. When will we love our neighbour as ourselves? In the first place,
Jesus said that no man hateth his own flesh. It is admitted by all that
every person loves himself. Now if we do rightly love ourselves, we want
to be saved and continue to exist, we want to go into the kingdom where we
can enjoy eternity and see no more sorrow nor death. This is the desire
of every person who believes in God. Now take a person in this
congregation who has knowledge with regard to being saved in the kingdom
of our God and our Father, and being exalted, one who knows and
understands the principles of eternal life, and sees the beauty and
excellency of the eternities before him compared with the vain and foolish
things of the world, and suppose that he is overtaken in a gross fault,
that he has committed a sin that he knows will deprive him of that
exaltation which he desires, and that he cannot attain to it without the
shedding of his blood, and also knows that by having his blood shed he
will atone for that sin, and be saved and exalted with the Gods, is there
a man of woman in this house but what would say, "shed my blood that I may
be saved and exalted with the Gods?"
All mankind love themselves, and let these principles be known by an
individual, and he would be glad to have his blood shed. That would be
loving themselves, even unto an eternal exaltation. Will you love your
brothers or sisters likewise, when they have committed a sin that cannot
be atoned for without the sheding [sic] of their blood? Will you love
that man or woman well enough to shed their blood? That is what Jesus
Christ meant. He never told a man or woman to love their enemies in their
wickedness, never. He never intended any such thing; his language is left
as it is for those to read who have the Spirit to discern between truth
and error; it was so left for those who can discern the things of God.
Jesus Christ never meant that we should love a wicked man in his
wickedness.
Now take the wicked, and I can refer to where the Lord had to slay
every soul of the Israelites that went out of Egypt, except Caleb and
Joshua. He slew them by the hands of their enemies, by the plague, and by
the sword, why? Because He loved them, and promised Abraham that He would
save them. And He loved Abraham because he was a friend to his God, and
would stick to Him in the hour of darkness, hence He promised Abraham that
He would save his seed. And He could save them upon no other principle,
for they had forfeited their right to the land of Canaan by transgressing
the law of God, and they could not have atoned for the sin if they had
lived. But if they were slain, the Lord could bring them up in the
resurrection, and give them the land of Canaan, and He could not do it on
any other principle.
I could refer you to plenty of instances where men have been
righteously slain, in order to atone for their sins. I have seen scores
and hundreds of people for whom there would have been a chance (in the
last resurrection there will be) if their lives had been taken and their
blood spilled on the ground as a smoking incense to the Almighty, but who
are now angels to the devil, until our elder brother Jesus Christ raises
them up--conquers death, hell, and the grave. I have known a great many
men who have left this Church for whom there is no chance whatever for
exaltation, but if their blood had been spilled, it would have been better
for them. The wickedness and ignorance of the nations forbid this
principle's being in full force, but the time will come when the law of
God will be in full force.
This is loving our neighbour as ourselves; if he needs help, help
him; and if he wants salvation and it is necessary to spill his blood on
the earth in order that he may be saved, spill it. Any of you who
understand the principles of eternity, if you have sinned a sin requiring
the shedding of blood, except the sin unto death, would not be satisfied
nor rest until your blood should be spilled, that you might gain that
salvation you desire. That is the way to love mankind.
Christ and Belial have not become friends; they have never shaken
hands; they never have agreed to be brothers and to be on good terms; no,
never; and they never will, because they are diametrically opposed to each
other. If one conquers, the other is destroyed. One or the other of them
must triumph and utterly destroy and cast down his opponent. Light and
darkness cannot dwell together, and so it is with the kingdom of God.
Now, brethren and sisters, will you live your religion? How many
hundreds of times have I asked you that question? Will the Latter-day
Saints live their religion? I am ashamed to say anything about a
reformation among Saints, but I am happy to think that the people called
Latter-day Saints are striving now to obtain the Spirit of their calling
and religion. They are just coming into the path, just waking up out of
their sleep. It seems as though they are nearly all like babies; we are
but children in one sense. Now let us begin, like children, and walk in
the straight and narrow path, live our religion, and honour our God.
With these remarks, I pray the God of Israel to bless you forever and
ever, for you are the best people on earth. I can say that I am happy
that you are doing so well as you are. Continue to increase in all the
graces of God's Spirit until the day of His coming, which I desire with
all my heart, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NECESSITY FOR REFORMATION A DISGRACE--INTELLIGENCE A GIFT, INCREASED
BY IMPARTING--SPIRIT OF GOD--VARIETY IN SPIRITUAL AS WELL AS IN
NATURAL ORGANIZATIONS--GOD THE FATHER OF THE SPIRITS OF ALL
MANKIND--ETC.
A Discourse, by President Brigham Young, Delivered in Great Salt Lake
City,
March 8, 1857.
I presume there will not any person object to my talking this
morning, although there may be many who wish to occupy the time.
There are a few items that I wish to lay before the brethren; the
first is concerning our northern mission. A good many names of persons
invited to go north have been read here, and I want to say to all those
brethren that we do not desire any of them to go north with us this
spring, unless they would like so to do, and can make it convenient to
take the trip to see the country. We will excuse all who do not wish to
go, also all whose circumstances rather forbid their going, and whose
other duties of greater importance prevent them. Again, I would like to
have all who wish to go on that journey consider that they have an
invitation, so far as they can go consistently with their circumstances.
I invite all to go who wish to and can do so conveniently. I think that
the brethren understand, both those who live in the country and in this
city, that the invitation to go north is not given in respect of persons,
but any who have not been invited and who wish to go, may have the
privilege; and those who have been invited but cannot go consistently, we
will excuse.
The brethren who have been called upon foreign missions we expect to
respond to the call cheerfully, where it is a duty; but where we invite
persons to accompany us in visiting different regions of country for our
gratification, health, information, and satisfaction, the case is a little
different.
Last Sabbath I was here in the forenoon, but I did not feel able to
come in the afternoon. However, I gave brother Kimball a text with regard
to this people to preach upon in the afternoon, and I expect that he did
so, and presume that it proved satisfactory to the congregation.
Concerning what has been said by brother Orson Hyde since I came in,
pertaining to light and knowledge, it is worth our serious attention. I
understand that this people do not all live up to their privileges. I
have told you that I was really mortified to hear the Elders of Israel
preaching a reformation; this is a source of mortification to me, and the
reasons are these. When life and salvation are put into the possession of
individuals or of a community, and they have all the means of obtaining
the knowledge of God, and the wisdom of God, to understand the ways of God
and to secure to themselves light, life, and immortality; and when those
means are in them and round about them, and in all their communications
and avocations of life are present with them, then to think that those
individuals, or that community, should neglect such a great opportunity
and prize, a prize beyond all earthly prizes or wealth of this earth,
which can bear no comparison to it, is exceedingly marvellous; and to see
them neglect this great prize, their conduct is like, speaking after the
manner of the world, that of a miser who should turn from a mountain of
gold which is so valuable, and go to a sand bank to scratch it over, to
pick out shot to make himself wealthy.
When life and salvation are put in the possession of individuals, or
of a people, to see them neglect those principles for anything pertaining
to this world, or to let sorrow or affliction, or trials, or temptations,
or buffeting, or smiting, or driving with the sword, fire, or anything
else in the shape of persecution that can be poured on them, and to see
them turn away from the things of God and be driven from the path of
righteousness that would lead them to eternal glory, and crown them with
crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives, is mortifying to my
feelings, and I feel mortified when we have to say, "Reformation," yet
such is often the case. And many times when people have received and
enjoyed great light and intelligence, the things of this world choke the
good word, thorns and thistles spring up, and they seem to have but little
root in themselves. The sun rises and scorches the tender plants that
seem to be growing in them, and we have to cry to the people, "reform,
REFORM, REFORM," when in reality it is a disgrace that such instruction
should ever be necessary. It is a great disgrace; it is mortifying to
angels, and I will insure that it is mortifying to our Father Adam. His
heart is pained with such things; and the Prophets are pained with them,
and so are all who understand and have proved themselves worthy of eternal
life, both those who now live on the earth and those who have gone behind
the vail.
For us to be repenting and reforming is really a disgrace. If it is
annoying to borrow light from others, it is a disgrace to take a course in
life to have to repent of the use made of that light. It is a disgrace to
our organization, to the design of heaven, and to the intelligence God has
given to man for his benefit. Truly wise persons hate to look upon such
conduct, they look upon it with contempt. They are more worthy and noble
than to condescend to take a course in life which they have continually to
be repenting of.
As to light, a subject that brother Hyde has been speaking upon, I
will present a few of my views in somewhat different terms. In the first
place, to say that we "borrow light from one another." I do not know that
I precisely understand that idea, for I have no light to lend. Perhaps I
am not so well endowed with light as some who have lived on the earth, but
I have none to lend. I will use another term, and I might say, perhaps,
with a good deal of propriety, that the poet conveys my idea pretty
correctly in his lines concerning the wise and foolish virgins:--
"Go to them that sell and buy,
And get yourselves a full supply."
Another wrote:--
"The richest man I ever saw, was him that begged the most;
His soul was filled with Jesus, and with the Holy Ghost."
I will go to begging instead of borrowing. But it is no great matter
whether light is borrowed or begged, for it is not so much the way in
which I obtain knowledge, as in the use I make of the knowledge I have
obtained. The wrong use of our knowledge is what brings default in me or
you.
I say that I have no light to lend. If God has given me light, if I
possess the light of the Spirit of revelation, and bestow that knowledge
upon my brethren, that same fountain increases in me; whereas, if I were
to shut it up--to close up the vision--and keep it from the people, it
would be like the candle lighted and put under the bushel, where of course
the want of free air would extinguish it; and if the light in me becomes
darkness, how great is that darkness! This is my explanation with regard
to the light that is in me. If I receive from the fountain, the more I
give the more I receive. The freer I am to hand out that which the Lord
bestows on me, the better my mind is prepared to receive more from the
fountain; that is the experience of every individual.
Here let me say what I do know and understand; every branch of
knowledge, of wisdom, of light, of understanding, all that I know, all
that is within my organization mentally or physically, spiritually or
temporally, I have received from some source. So it is with you. There
is no knowledge, no light, no wisdom that you are in possession of, but
what you have received from some source. Do you think this is true?
When will we possess knowledge, and power, and glory, and wisdom
independently? When Jesus has finished his work. When we have proved
ourselves worthy to be crowned, when we have passed through all the
ordeals of suffering, trials, and temptations, and proven to our Father
and our God that we are His friends, that we will live and serve Him, and
not forsake our parents--will not forsake our Father's house and His
precepts; when we have proven ourselves faithful in the flesh, and have
gone through the vail into the spirit world--have done all that is
required of us in preaching to those who are in prison, and are faithful
until we receive our bodies again--until these tabernacles which we now
occupy are resurrected and brought again to the spirits, and the spirits
to the tabernacles, and Jesus calls on us to come up and be crowned among
the faithful who will receive crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal
life, then we will receive that power, knowledge, and wisdom, and possess
it as independently as the Gods possess their power. It will then be
bequeathed to them that they will have light within themselves. Why?
Because they have control over the elements, and it will never be until
then.
We have no light, no power at present, only what is given to us.
Brother Hyde calls it borrowing, but I call it a free gift, or begging.
The Lord's giving does not diminish His fountain of spirit that our
philosopher brother Orson Pratt speaks of, that he believes occupies
universal space, or, in other words, that universal space is filled with,
and that every particle of it is a Holy Spirit, and that spirit is all
powerful and all wise, full of intelligence and possessing all the
attributes of all the Gods in eternity. I hardly dare say what I think
and what I know, but that theory, though apparently very plausible and
beautiful, is not true, for it is, or would be contradicted by the
Prophets, by Jesus and the Apostles, and by all good men who understand
the principles of eternity, both those who have lived and are now living
on the earth. Brother Hyde was upon this same theory once, and in
conversation with brother Joseph Smith advanced the idea that eternity or
boundless space was filled with the Spirit of God, or the Holy Ghost.
After portraying his views upon that theory very carefully and minutely,
he asked brother Joseph what he thought of it? He replied that it
appeared very beautiful, and that he did not know of but one serious
objection to it. Says brother, Hyde, [sic-punc] "What is that?" Joseph
replied, "it is not true."
With all the knowledge and wisdom that are combined in the person of
brother Orson Pratt, still he does not yet know enough to keep his feet
out of it, but drowns himself in his own philosophy, every time that he
undertakes to treat upon principles that he does not understand. When he
was about to leave here for his present mission, he made a solemn promise
that he would not meddle with principles which he did not fully
understand, but would confine himself to the first principles of the
doctrine of salvation, such as were preached by brother Joseph Smith and
the Apostles. But the first that we see in his writings, he is dabbling
with things that he does not understand; his vain philosophy is no
criterion or guide for the Saints in doctrine. According to his
philosophy, the devils in hell are composed of and filled with the Holy
Spirit, or Holy Ghost, and possess all the knowledge, wisdom, and power of
the Gods. If he believes his own doctrine pertaining to the celestial and
other kingdoms, viz., that the devils in hell possess the same power as
the Gods, they being opposed to Jesus and his Father, the whole fabric
must fall. When I read some of the writings of such philosophers, they
make me think, "O dear, granny, what a long tail our puss has got!" The
influences of the Almighty, by the Holy Spirit, have got to work upon us
to revolutionize us. We must with our organization, as we are organized
to become independent beings, though not yet independent of the influences
around us, bring into subjection our own wills and efforts, and subject
ourselves to the principle of obedience to the celestial law. And when we
have overcome the seeds of sin that are in our mortal tabernacles, and
brought our bodies and spirits in subjection to the celestial law of
Christ, and proven ourselves worthy to receive that exaltation promised to
the faithful, then it will be high time for us to receive independent
kingdoms, thrones, principalities, and powers. We have them not now, and
if we had we would not know what to do with them.
There are but few men that know how to govern in temporal things;
fewer still who know how to control the feelings of the people, how to
guide the power of any kingdom that was ever organized on the earth.
Nations and kingdoms of this world rise up and flourish only for a season.
What is the difficulty? They contain the seeds of their own destruction,
sown therein by the framers of human governments; those combustive
elements are organized in their construction from the first. With all the
excellency, and all the carefulness and correctness exhibited in the
formation of constitutions and laws, they have the seeds of destruction
within themselves. In the laws of every government now on this earth,
there are certain principles in their constitutions that will ere long sap
the foundations of their existence; and so it will be, so long as men
continue to persist in ruling and making laws, in regulating and
controlling by human wisdom alone, and in issuing their mandates and
sending their officers to administer laws, made by the wisdom of man. I
repeat, that just so long they will continue to throw into their laws,
into the constitutions of their governments, principles that are
calculated to destroy the fabrics.
Why are they thus lead to sow the seeds of their own destruction?
Because the kingdoms of this world are not designed to stand. When men
are placed at the head of government who are actually controlled by the
power of God--by the Holy Ghost--they can lay plans, they can frame
constitutions, they can form governments and laws that have not the seeds
of death within them, and no other men can do it. Consequently I say that
there are but few who know how to control or govern even in temporal
affairs on this earth. Then why should we have kingdoms and thrones
committed to our charge, when we are not capacitated to rule over them?
We are now trying to frame our lives in a way that we may be prepared to
live in a kingdom that is eternal, and it will be just about as much as we
can do to prepare ourselves to enter into that kingdom which will endure
for ever, without our being made Kings and and [sic] Priests in that
kingdom for some time yet.
Can any man tell the variety of the spirits there are? No, he cannot
even tell the variety that there is in the portion of his dominions in
which God has placed us, on this earth upon which we live, for we can see
an endless variety on this little spot, which is nothing but a garden spot
in comparison to the rest of the kingdoms of our God. Again, you may
observe the people, and you will see an endless variety of disposition,
and an endless variety of physiognomy. Bring the millions of faces before
you, and where can you find two faces precisely alike in every point?
Where can you find two human beings precisely alike in the organization of
their bodies with the spirits? Where can you point out two precisely
alike in every particular in their temperaments and dispositions? Where
can you find two who are so operated upon precisely alike by a superior
power that their lives, their actions, their feelings, and all pertaining
to human life are alike? I conclude that there is as great a variety in
the spiritual as there is in the temporal world, and I think that I am
just in my conclusion.
You will see people possessed of different spirits; but I will say to
you what I have heretofore frequently said, and what brother Joseph Smith
has said, and what the Scripture teaches, your spirits when they came to
take tabernacles were pure and holy, and prepared to receive knowledge,
wisdom, and instruction, and to be taught while in the flesh; so that
every son and daughter of Adam, if they would apply their minds to wisdom,
and magnify their callings and improve upon every grace and means given
them, would have tickets for the boxes, to use brother Hyde's figure,
instead of going into the pit. There is no spirit but what was pure and
holy when it came here from the celestial world. There is no spirit among
the human family that was begotten in hell; none that were begotten by
angels, or by any inferior being. They were not produced by any being
less than our Father in heaven. He is the Father of our spirits; and if
we could know, understand, and do His will, every soul would be prepared
to return back into His presence. And when they get there, they would see
that they had formerly lived there for ages, that they had previously been
acquainted with every nook and corner, with the palaces, walks, and
gardens; and they would embrace their Father, and He would embrace them
and say, "My son, my daughter, I have you again;" and the child would say,
"O my Father, my Father, I am here again."
These are the facts in the case, and there are none ticketed for the
pit, unless they fill up that ticket themselves through their own
misconduct. Are all spirits endowed alike? No, not by any means. Will
all be equal in the eelestial [sic] kingdom? By no means. Some spirits
are more noble than others; some are capable of receiving more than
others. There is the same variety in the spirit world that you behold
here, yet they are of the same parentage, of one Father, one God, to say
nothing of who He is. They are all of one parentage, though their [sic]
is a difference in their capacities and nobility, and each one will be
called to fill the station for which he is organized, and which he can
fill.
We are placed on this earth to prove whether we are worthy to go into
the celestial world, the terrestrial, or the telestial, or to hell, or to
any other kingdom or place, and we have enough of life given us to do
this. And as I frequently say, and think more frequently, it is a
disgrace for the Latter-day Saints to say, "Let us lay hold now, and have
a reformation." We should never cease reforming and seeking to the Lord
our God; and wherein we can better any trait in our lives, let us go to
with our mights and reform ourselves, and not ask an Elder to come and
preach reformation to us, and we will find that every one of us will be
ticketed for the boxes, if we will do what we ought to do. If we fill out
tickets so as to pass Joseph, Peter, Jesus, the Prophets, Abraham, and the
Patriarchs, our tickets will take us into the celestial kingdom. And if
we can pass the Prophet Joseph, answer his questions, and bear his
scrutiny, we shall consider ourselves pretty safe. We may fill out our
tickets for seats in the celestial, terrestrial, telestial, or some other
kingdom, just as we please. We have got to fill out our own tickets; our
own lives will fill them up, and we will be judged according to the deeds
done in the body, every one of us, and that is the filling up of the
ticket.
I remarked to brother Kimball last Sabbath, that this people are the
best people that ever lived upon the earth; I am actually a good deal
inclined to think so. Do not marvel at this remark. How long did it take
Enoch to purify his people--to become holy and prepared for what we want
this people to be prepared for in a very few years? It took him 365
years. How long has this people lived? It will be 27 years on the sixth
of next month, since this Church was organized. What do you think about
this people? I say that the virtuous acts of their lives beat the whole
world. Were the children of Israel ever so obedient to Moses, as this
people are to me? No, they never began to be; for obedience they could
not favourably compare with this people. Moses led his people forty years
in the wilderness in rebellion, fighting, stealing, whoring, and every
manner of iniquity; and their evils where [sic] so great, that God cut
every one of them off in the wilderness, except Caleb and Joshua. He did
not suffer one of them to go into the land of Canaan, except the two I
have named; they never revolted from Moses, but held up his hands all the
time. They never turned away, not even when Aaron, his half-brother and
right hand man, made the golden calf. When Aaron gathered up the
earrings, and finger rings, and jewels, and made a calf, and led the
children of Israel astray to worship an image, and say, "these be thy
Gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage," while Moses was in the mountain talking to the
Lord, Caleb and Joshua did not turn away; and if they were in that
company, their souls shuddered while the people were making that calf.
Were Enoch's men as obedient and advanced as far as this people in
the same time? I think not. Let this people continue to make the
improvement they have made, and it would not be 165 years before they
could take this part of the country and go off, should it be necessary,
until the earth is purified. Yet Enoch had to live and strive, and toil
during 365 years, in order to bring his people under the principle of
strict obedience. This contrast is encouraging to this people.
Now let me tell you that there are hundreds of men and women in this
community that believe they ought to repent, but cannot find out for what,
cannot tell wherein to do differently, from what they do, and do not know
what to do. Do you do everything you know to be right and pleasing in the
sight of God? Yes, say hundreds and thousands of the people. Do you do
anything you know to be wrong? Hundreds may reply, "We do not know that
we do, but we do not feel as though we enjoyed as much as we should."
Hold on, do not get away from us. If you were now in the enjoyment of the
things you have a presentiment of in your own feelings, that in the
anxiety of your own hearts you are longing for, if you could get all that
in your possession, you would not stay here; we should lose you, for you
would be too pure to tarry in our society. Do not be in a hurry; let us
stay together and fight the devil a little longer. Some of you think that
by next fall you must obtain all that the Elders preach, if you do, you
will go behind the vail, and we cannot have your society.
With many, a presentiment arises in their hearts like this, "We want
something wonderful, or we must do something that we have not done. We
must revolutionize our lives; we must reform," but they do not know
wherein. Serve God according to the best knowledge you have, and lay down
and sleep quietly; and when the devil comes along and says, "You are not a
very good Saint, you might enjoy greater blessings and more of the power
of God, and have the vision of your mind opened, if you would live up to
your privileges," tell him to leave; that you have long ago forsaken his
ranks and enlisted in the army of Jesus, who is your captain, and that you
want no more of the devil.
Should a sister, full of faith, happen to lay her hands on the sick,
and they thereby be relieved in the hour of distress, then the devil will
come along and say, "Sister, I tell you that you have more faith than
brother Brigham, brother Heber, or the Twelve." In such cases just tell
Mr. devil to kiss your foot and leave, that you have no more faith and
knowledge than your Father and God has given you; that you are not any
more or less than His child, and mean to serve Him, and that you have
broken friendship with the devil, and therefore he must leave forthwith.
Some of you sisters will get to thinking, "O that I knew what to do.
Brother Kimball pours it out on me and tells me to repent; brother Brigham
pours it on me, and brother Hyde and others, and they tell me that I am
not half so good as I should be." Hold on, do not get so nervous that you
cannot eat your bread and meat.
We have Zion in our view in her perfection, as you have. Do you know
how you looked on Zion when you first embraced the Gospel? You thought
there would be no more trial, no more sorrow or vexation of spirit; that
everybody would do right, and that there would be no more wrong; that if
you once reached the gathering place, there your souls would be full of
glory, and you expected that you could then sit and "sing yourself away to
everlasting bliss." You have to go through the smut mill, in order to be
made clean; then you have to be winnowed, then ground, and then go through
the bolt; and in this operation a good many will actually "bolt." There
are many pretty good men who want to go to California and to the States;
they have felt the effect of the boltings. You have come here, and many
have undergone a great deal of trouble to do so, in order to serve your
God and live your religion; and when you do not know what to do to make
yourselves better, be contented, and eat your food with a thankful heart
to the glory of God. And when you lay down, say "All is peace, all is
right; and if the Lord wishes to take me away to night, I am ready to go."
There are thousands of this people who, if they were to live ten thousand
years in the flesh and according to the chance they have had, would be no
better than they are now.
It is said to be eternal life, "to know the only wise God, and Jesus
Christ whom He has sent." I will tell you one thing, as brother Hyde has
said, it would be an excellent plan for us to go to work and find out
ourselves, for as sure as you find out yourselves, you will find out God,
whether you are Saint or sinner. A man cannot find out himself without
the light of revelation; he has to turn round and seek to the Lord his
God, in order to find out himself. If you find out who Joseph was, you
will know as much about God as you need to at present; for if He said, "I
am a God to this people," He did not say that He was the only wise God.
Jesus was a God to the people when he was upon earth, was so before he
came to this earth, and is yet. Moses was a God to the children of
Israel, and in this manner you may go right back to Father Adam.
If you look at things spiritually, and then naturally, and see how
they appear together, you will understand that when you have the privilege
of commencing the work that Adam commenced on this earth, you will have
all your children come and report to you of their sayings and acts; and
you will hold every son and daughter of yours responsible when you get the
privilege of being an Adam on earth.
Suppose that one of us had been Adam, and had peopled and filled the
world with our children, they, although they might be great grandchildren,
&c., still, say I, had I been Adam, they would be my flesh, blood, and
bones, and have the same kind of a spirit put into them that is in me.
And pertaining to the flesh they would all be my children, and I would
call them to account, and by and bye I would call every one of them home.
They would have to render up to father an account, that he may know what
their works have been on earth, for man is judged according to his works
on the earth.
Comparing spiritual with temporal things, it must be that God knows
something about temporal things, and has had a body and been on an earth,
were it not so He would not know how to judge men righteously, according
to the temptations and sin they have had to contend with. If I can pass
brother Joseph, I shall stand a good chance for passing Peter, Jesus, the
Prophets, Moses, Abraham, and all back to Father Adam, and be pretty sure
of receiving his approbation. If I can pass all this ordeal, shall I not
be pretty safe? I think I shall.
When we get before father Adam and the innumerable company that will
come before him--when we draw near to the Ancient of Days with the rest of
his children, and receive his approbation, shall we not be safe? If we
can pass the sentinel Joseph the Prophet, we shall go into the celestial
kingdom, and not a man can injure us. If he says, "God bless you, come
along here;" if we will live so that Joseph will justify us, and say,
"Here am I, brethren," we shall pass every sentinel; there will be no
danger but that we will pass into the celestial kingdom. Will we all
become Gods, and be crowned kings? No, my brethren, there will be
millions on millions, even the greater party of the celestial world, who
will not be capable of a fulness of that glory, immortality, eternal lives
and a continuation of them, yet they will go into the celestial kingdom.
Will this people all go into that kingdom? I think a good many will have
to be burnt out like an old pipe, before they can go into any decent
kingdom.
Think how many have come into this church, from the commencement of
it until now, and apostatized. Will our present population equal them in
number? No, it would be like a drop in a bucket, compared with them. Do
you know of any other people's striving to enter in at the strait gate
besides this people? Yes, many in the sectarian world, and the honest
among the heathen nations are seeking with all their mights to enter in,
and I do not know but what they are the foolish virgins that brother Hyde
has been talking about. The parable will apply to them, as well as to a
portion of this people. They live according to the moral law given to
them, and no people can be morally any better than are thousands and
millions of them, for they have spent days and years on their knees to get
the power we have, but could not obtain it. Why? Because they had not
the keys of the everlasting Priesthood. Where will they go? To heaven,
and they will have all the heaven, bliss, and crowns that they have
anticipated in the flesh, and then you may add a hundred fold more. Can
they go into the celestial kingdom? No, not without the keys of that
kingdom.
Well, brethren and sisters, may the Lord bless you and comfort your
hearts. Be true to your God and to your religion. Do not forsake them,
but forsake sin wherever you may see it. Shun sin, whether it is in me or
in any other person, and cleave to righteousness and to the Lord. Do not
betray your God nor your covenants, and I say, God bless you and prepare
us all for His celestial kingdom. Amen.
OUR RELATIVES, THOSE WHO DO THE WILL OF GOD--THE ELDERS SHOULD BE AS
FATHERS AND SHEPHERDS IN ISRAEL, AND NOT AS MASTERS--SELF-CONFIDENCE,
AND THE WAY TO OBTAIN IT--THE PROPHET JOSEPH NOT YET
RESURRECTED--PREACHING TO THE SPIRITS IN PRISON, ETC.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle,
Great Salt Lake City, March 15, 1857.
I am not in the habit of taking a text, when I preach to the Saints;
but I will quote a portion of Scripture, and offer a few remarks upon it.
It is recorded, concerning the Saviour, Matthew xii. 46-50, that
"While he yet talked to the people, behod [sic] his mother and his
brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto
him, Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak
with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my
mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand towards
his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever
shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother,
and sister, and mother."
The Saviour's reply to the questions, "Who is my mother? and who are
my brethren?" is fraught with a principle that is very little noticed by
many. I frequently hear the brethren, and you may hear both them and the
sisters, in the prayer-meetings, where they have a privilege of speaking,
say, "I have not a father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first nor
second cousin, nor any relative whatever in this Church." Do you not hear
such expressions made by the Saints? Yes; and I sometimes here [sic] them
from this stand.
Whether to the understanding of his hearers at that time, or whether
to ours, those questions were correctly answered by our Saviour in the
observation, "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in
heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." So far as I am
concerned, I do not claim relationship anywhere else. And I do not think
that the Saviour will claim any son or daughter of Adam to be his brother,
sister, mother, or kin, or connection of any kind or description,
according to the flesh, except those who do the will of our Father in
heaven--the will of Jesus and his Father.
We presume that the Saviour perfectly understood his origin, for he
was then over thirty years of age, and had been instructed by his Father
in heaven and by the Holy Ghost, and had had the visions of his mind
repeatedly opened, according to the history given by his disciples;
therefore we have no hesitation in believing that he understood his
origin, who he was, the errand for which he came into the world, the
business he had to attend to here, and understood the end of his mission
in the meridian of time. He understood that which you and I do not
understand, without the same kind of revelations and teachings as he
enjoyed.
Let the human family do as they did in the days of Adam, in the days
of Noah, or even as they did in the days of Lot; let parents propagate
children, and let one generation succeed another, and this does not change
the blood, flesh, bones, sinews, &c., pertaining to our organization in
the flesh; this does not change in the least the peculiar characteristics
of the organization of our bodies. The Apostle merely hinted at this
subject when he said, "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for
to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times
before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." (Acts xvii. 26.)
No matter who they are, nor whether they are upon the islands, or
upon the continents; no matter whether they are the wild Arabs who
traverse the scorching sands of Arabia, the aborigines of our own country,
who roam over its plains and mountains, or the delicately nurtured
dwellers in highly civilized nations; they are all of one flesh and blood.
Consequently we can readily and safely draw the conclusion that a man
or woman who has sprang from the loins of Father Adam and Mother Eve,
whether upon the islands of the sea, in the west, in the east, or on the
opposite side of this globe, is flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone,
as much so as any person now in this house or in this Territory. But the
relationship that I claim, is to those who do the will of our Father in
heaven; they are my brethren and sisters.
I know a great man here who have no relatives in this Church, using
that term in its customary acceptation. Sometimes wives leave their
husbands, to come here; mothers also leave their children, and children
their parents. Ask them, "Where is your husband?" "In England," or in
some other country. "Have you any children?" "Yes." "Where are they?"
"They would not come with me." "Have you any brothers and sisters, or
parents?" "Yes, my father and mother are living." "Did they believe the
Gospel?" "No." "Did your brothers and sisters believe it?" "No, I am a
lone person."
Such persons are apt to feel a spirit of despondency, to mourn and
complain, "O that I had a Father's house to go to; or if I had one person
whom I could visit and call sister, how happy I should be; but I am a
stranger here, I have no relatives in this kingdom." Is that feeling
correct or incorrect? I say that it is incorrect; such conclusions are
not true. That man or woman that is a child of God, that honours his or
her calling in the kingdom of God on the earth, is just as much your
brother or sister as any person you have been accustomed to claim that
relationship with. If you see a woman who lives her religion, who is
owned of God, you see a person that is flesh of your flesh, blood of your
blood, and bone of your bone, although she may have been born upon the
opposite side of the earth from where you was born. Those who actually
live the religion we profess, are as much your brothers and sisters as are
those born of the same earthly parents. Jesus understood this, as we may
learn from his expression, "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father
which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Let your hearts be at rest, for you have brothers and sisters here to
visit; they are your connections, your relatives, your brethren and
sisters.
A great many have an experience that has proven to them the truth of
this doctrine. Ask those individuals, those who at times have desponding
feelings about the absence of their relatives, when they are in the light
of the Spirit, when the joys of salvation fill their bosoms, whether they
would prefer the society of their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters
whom they have left behind, or whether they would like to associate with
them better than with their neighbours here, and they will tell you, "No."
Would you visit them, as quick as you would a good Saint? "No." Do you
have the same feeling and fellowship for them, as for a Saint? "No." Are
they are near and dear to you as those who are Saints? "No." And yet,
when the Spirit is gone from them and they are left to themselves, they
are apt to feel lonesome and cast down, to be filled with desponding
feelings, and to cry out, "I wish I could see my father, my mother, my
brothers and sisters; I wish they were here." And I wish you to
understand that your brethren and sisters are here, even according to the
flesh. Yes, according to the connection and relationship we bear to each
other to our Father and God, and to our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ.
It is true that I have not altogether the experience that those have
whose parents would not embrace the Gospel, nor any of their father's
family. My father and step-mother embraced the plan of salvation as
revealed through Joseph the Prophet; and four of my brothers, five
sisters, and their children and their children's children, almost without
exception, are in this Church; also many of my cousins, uncles, and other
classes of what we call relatives or relations, are in this Church. But I
had this trial when I embraced this Gospel, "Can you forsake your friends
and your father's house?" This was in the vision of my mind, and I had
just as much of a trial as though I had actually been called to experience
all that some really have. I felt, yes, I can leave my father, my
brothers and sisters, and my wife and children, if they will not serve the
Lord and go with me.
I did not ask my wife whether she believed the Gospel; I did not ask
her whether she would be baptized. Faith, repentance, and baptism are
free for all. I did not know, when I was baptized, whether my wife
believed the Gospel or not; I did not know that my father's house would go
with me. I believed that some of them would, but I was brought to the
test, "Can I forsake all for the Gospel's sake?" I can, was the reply
within me. "Would you like to?" "Yes, if they will not embrace the
Gospel." "Will not these earthly, natural ties be continually in your
bosom?" "No; I know no other family but the family of God gathered
together, or about to be, in this my day; I have no other connection on
the face of the earth that I claim." And from that day to this, if my
father was still living, or my mother, and would not believe the Gospel,
embrace it, and then live it, or if any of my living brothers and sisters
would not, I would rather meet a Saint who was a beggar in the streets and
bid him welcome to my house, than to receive a visit from any of my
unbelieving connections, even though they had the wealth of the Indies. I
was brought to this test in my own feelings, in the first of my experience
in this Church.
Here are our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. And perhaps it
would be strictly correct to say that we have fathers in the Gospel,
spiritual Fathers, for the Apostle Paul called Timothy, whom he brought
into the Church, his "own son in the faith," and charged him to "be gentle
unto all men, apt to teach, patient;" to be careful, cautious, with regard
to the people that believed in Jesus Christ; to learn the disposition and
the nature of the people, that he might understand himself and those he
taught; and alluded to others that were travelling and preaching; building
up Churches, or presiding over them after they were built up.
Looking at the conduct of many, yea, very many, as we can see it
exhibited in this our day, they want the mastery, the influence, the
power. They want to be able to say to the people, "Do this or do that,"
and have no objections raised. They would have the people obey their
voice, and yet they do not know how to gain the affections of the people;
they do not understand the dispositions of the people.
Paul observed the same difficulty in his day. Many Elders were
preaching and presiding, who were ignorant, aspiring, and tyrannical, and
but few of them treated the people as kind and benevolent fathers treat
their children. There were not many fathers, but there was a disposition
to be "many masters," as we see here.
The most of our Elders want to be obeyed, as strictly as you are
taught by them from this stand that this people ought to obey brother
Heber, or brother Brigham; as strictly as they preach to you to obey our
counsel. I do not threaten you much; No. If I have not wisdom and power
to gain the influence necessary for me to wield in the midst of this
people, without cursing them, without telling them that they and their
substance shall be cursed, and that if they do not do as I say they shall
go to hell--without threatening the people all the time with my judgments
and the judgments of the Almighty--I say, let Brigham sink a little lower,
and get into the field where I can find my true level, where I can be made
more useful.
You never hear me plead with nor threaten the people much, nor
chastise them often and severely for not obeying my counsel. Is it right
that others should do so? Yes, it is all right, if they are so disposed;
I have no fault to find with regard to others urging the people to obey
counsel. But if I do not give the Saints and others the counsel of the
Almighty, and that too by the Spirit of my mission, they are at liberty to
dictate me, or to correct me in every error I commit; and certainly I
should commit great errors, if I did not enjoy and have the Spirit of my
mission, and counsel according to the will of the Lord. If all who are
called to responsible stations would look at themselves precisely as they
are, I will venture that we would have many more fathers than we now have,
and fewer masters to drive the people.
As I have frequently said to the brethren, stop, hold on. If you
have sheep and have become a shepherd in the fold of Christ, you must bear
in mind that you must know your sheep, and that then they will know you,
that is, if you have got sheep. Perhaps some of you are nursing a flock
of goats, and do not know the difference. But if you actually have a
flock of sheep, you should, instead of hallooing, "Shoo, shoo, shoo, get
out of the way," and instead of driving them, take a course that when they
hear your voice they may begin to bleat and run for their shepherd,
because he has a little salt for them. When the sheep hear the voice of a
good shepherd they expect to hear the words of life; and every one that
has the knowledge of God will know and understand that such a shepherd is
acting in his duty, and they will walk up to his counsels and example. Do
all the shepherds take a wise course? No, and the reasons have been told
here times enough.
Elders of Israel and Bishops, be fathers, and take a course by which
you will win the affections of the people. How? with your silken lips?
No, no; but with the fear of the Almighty. Do you know that men and women
of God love truth? They do not love sophistry, it is an abomination to
them. When men are smooth as oil, with a smile always upon their
countenances, as some Elders have, to gain an influence, the love people
have for such men is rotten, is without foundation; and in the day of
trouble, when they need a foundation in their people, they will find that
it will fall to the ground, and that the people will pass by them and say,
"We do not know those men." Let your influence and your power be gained
by the power of the Lord Almighty, by the Holy Ghost sent down from
heaven, and see that you have within you a well of water, springing up to
everlasting life. Then when your brethren and sisters come around you
they will drink at that fountain, and say, "We are one with you."
You hear the Elders teaching the people to try and have confidence in
God, and saying, "Do have confidence in the ordinances of the house of
God; brethren and sisters try and live your religion; try and have
confidence in your religion; have confidence in your God; have confidence
in the Elders of Israel, that lead you; have confidence in your Bishops
and other presiding officers, &c."
You know that almost every man who becomes a public speaker uses
certain peculiar words to convey particular ideas, selects a vocabulary
and arrangement more or less peculiar to himself, thereby causing that
great variety of style observed in speakers and writers. I have mine,
which is peculiar to me. Did you ever see a man who had such a peculiar
vocabulary as brother Heber has? I never did. Orson Hyde has a mode of
expression peculiar to himself, and so has every public speaker. My use
of language is good to me; and though others may use different words to
convey the same ideas, let me give out those ideas in my own style,
according to my understanding.
Now to return to those teachings by the Elders, in such cases I would
say to my dear brethren, to those who are of the household of faith, try
to get a little confidence in yourselves, and then try to live so as to
have confidence in your God. Ask even an infidel whether he believes that
the wonder workings of nature, the strange phenomena which he sees and
cannot account for, are produced, and he will answer, "Yes, I know they
are." Do you know that men, women, and children are healed? Yes, you
know they are. You behold those remarkable phenomena, though you cannot
fully account for them. You believe in a great many things which you do
not understand, but do you believe in yourselves? No, that is the grand
difficulty with every one of us.
I will take my own experience. When men and women bring their sick
to me, if I had the power I would heal all that should be healed. And if
I had perfect confidence in myself, and the Lord had that confidence in me
which I should then have in Him, no power beneath the heavens could
prevent the power of God from coming on them and healing them through me.
But I have not yet attained to perfect confidence in myself in all
circumstances, neither has God in me, for were such the case, He would
answer every request I made of Him, every wish of mine would be answered
to the letter. And this is the difficulty with the people, they have not
attained to perfect confidence in themselves, neither have we as yet
sufficient grounds for that degree of confidence.
We lay hands on the sick and wish them to be healed, and pray the
Lord to heal them, but we cannot always say that He will. We do not
always know that He will actually hear our prayers and answer them.
Sometimes the Elders will get that faith, and the sisters will often lay
hands on their children and have faith and confidence in themselves that
God will answer their prayers, and say to fevers and pains, "Be ye rebuked
and stand far off from this the afflicted," and it is done. But you have
to attain to this power by your faithfulness and confidence in yourselves,
that God will answer your prayers. We know that the Lord often heals the
sick; and we believe all the time that He is able to do so, but will He
because we ask Him to? That is the question, and we are often doubtful
about it.
Do you think that I would have let my brother die, if I had the power
the Lord has? Would I have let Jedediah gone behind the veil, had I had
that power? No; though in that I might have gone contrary to the wishes
of the Almighty. For want of the knowledge which the Lord has, if I had
power I might bring injury upon myself and this people.
We must have knowledge pertaining to ourselves, and that knowledge
will give us the key to know how to ask and obtain, and without that
knowledge we cannot have eternal life, which is "to know the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent." If we have that knowledge we
will know how to ask so as to obtain, and not ask amiss, we will ask and
have our requests granted. How can we have that knowledge? By applying
our hearts to wisdom and our lives to rectitude; by living as perfectly
before God as we know how; by doing those things that we know to be right,
those about which we have no doubt or dubiety, and never doing that which
we are suspicious is wrong, and then be satisfied and not crave after that
which is not for us, but let it remain in the hands of God. If we can
obtain faith and confidence in ourselves, there is no lack in the power of
God; neither is there any lack in His diligence, for He is always on the
alert.
In our ignorance and darkness we may be led into error, if we follow
our feelings, as I just now observed might have been the case in regard to
retaining brother Jedediah, as also brother Willard, brother Whitney, and
many others. Had we had the power, would we have parted with Joseph? No,
notwithstanding his work was finished on the earth. Many ideas have been
imbibed and advanced concerning the death of Joseph. It was precisely as
the Lord had decreed, designed, willed and brought about. No power could
have altered it in the least. He had finished his work on the earth.
Still if you and I had had the power without the knowledge, we would have
kept Joseph on this earth, and then he would have failed to perform his
mission in the spirit world.
I learned during the intermission, that several understood brother
Heber to say, in his remarks in the forenoon, that Joseph was resurrected.
He did not say any such thing, but left the sentence with a word
understood at each end of it, or a sort af [sic] conjunction disjunctive
at each side of it. I thought at the time that many would understand
brother Heber as saying that Joseph was resurrected, and I take this
opportunity to correct that misunderstanding. Joseph is not resurrected;
and if you will visit the graves you will find the bodies of Joseph and
Hyrum yet in their resting place. Do not be mistaken about that; they
will be resurrected in due time.
Jesus had a work to do on the earth. He performed his mission, and
then was slain for his testimony. So it has been with every man who has
been fore-ordained to perform certain important missions. Joseph truly
said, "No power can take away my life, until my work is done." All the
powers of earth and hell could not take his life, until he had completed
the work the Father gave him to do; until that was done, he had to live.
When he died he had a mission in the spirit world, as much so as Jesus
had. Jesus was the first man that ever went to preach to the spirits in
prison, holding the keys of the Gospel of salvation to them. Those keys
were delivered to him in the day and hour that he went into the spirit
world, and with them he opened the door of salvation to the spirits in
prison.
Compare those inhabitants on the earth who have heard the Gospel in
our day, with the millions who have never heard it, or had the keys of
salvation presented to them, and you will conclude at once as I do, that
there is an almighty work to perform in the spirit world. Joseph has not
yet got through there. When he finishes his mission in the spirit world,
he will be resurrected, but he has not yet done there. Reflect upon the
millions and millions of people that have lived and died without hearing
the Gospel on the earth, without the keys of the kingdom. They were not
prepared for celestial glory, and there was no power that could prepare
them without the keys of this Priesthood.
They must go into prison, both Saints and sinners. The good and bad,
the righteous and the unrighteous must go to the house of prison, or
paradise, and Jesus went and opened the doors of salvation to them. And
unless they lost the keys of salvation on account of transgression, as has
been the case on this earth, spirits clothed with the Priesthood have
ministered to them from that day to this. And if they lost the keys by
transgression, some one who had been in the flesh, Joseph, for instance,
had to take those keys to them. And he is calling one after another to
his aid, as the Lord sees he wants help.
Jedediah is not asleep, his spirit is not dead, he is not idle;
neither is Willard idle, asleep, or dead. Joseph needed them there, also
brother Whitney, and all the rest of the faithful who have departed in our
day; and he is now anxious to get a few more of the faithful Elders to
assist him in the great labours in the prison house. He is there
attending to the business of his mission; and if they did lose the keys of
the Priesthood in the spirit world, as they have formerly done on the
earth, Joseph has restored those keys to the spirits in prison, so that we
who now live on the earth in the day of salvation and redemption for the
house of Israel and the house of Esau, may go forth and officiate for all
who died without the Gospel and the knowledge of God.
Brother Heber did not say that Joseph was resurrected, though I was
satisfied that many of the hearers would draw such a conclusion. As quick
as Joseph finishes his mission in the spirit world he will be resurrected.
I do not know that any news would come to my ears so sad and
discouraging, so calculated to blight my faith and hope as to hear that
Joseph is resurrected and has not made a visit to his brethren. I should
know that something serious was the matter, far more than I now apprehend
that there is. When his spirit again quickens his body, he will ascend to
heaven, present his resurrected body to the Father and the Son, receive
his commission as a resurrected being, and visit his brethren on this
earth, as did Jesus after his resurrection. Mary met the Saviour after
his resurrection, and, "supposing him to be the gardner, saith, Sir, if
thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him." But when
she learned who he was, and was about to greet him, he said, "Touch me
not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father." As quick as Joseph ascends
to his Father and God, he will get a commission to this earth again, and I
shall be the first woman that he will manifest himself to. I was going to
say the first man, but there are so many women who profess to have seen
him, that I thought I would say woman.
I should feel worse than I now do, if I knew that Joseph was
resurrected and had not paid us a visit, which he most assuredly will do,
when that period arrives.
When Jesus was resurrected they found the linen, but the body was not
there. When Joseph is resurrected, you may find the linen that enshrouded
his body, but you will not find his body in the grave, no more than the
disciples found the body of Jesus when they looked where it was lain.
To return more closely to the subject I have in mind, I will ask, can
we do anything to restore confidence in ourselves? Yes, we can; and those
principles that will actually give us confidence in ourselves, as what we
ought to have constantly before us. But those who have been intimately
acquainted with this people can see a difficulty on the other hand. A man
would get exceeding great faith, if he did not outweigh and outmeasure
himself, for it is but a short time before some are prone to take the
glory to themselves, and say, "I have laid hands on the sick and they have
been healed. Stand out of the way, everybody, I am the man for you to
look at," and they go to the devil.
Again, many will pray for the sick and for themselves, for this
blessing and that, without receiving an answer, and think "I am so
unworthy, I have not lived my religion and walked up to my privileges,
though I have thought of everything that I can confess." Some people will
come and confess to me things as simple as it would be for a woman to take
the last egg from her hen's nest, and then reflect, "what an evil I have
done to rob that poor hen of her last egg," and talk about that which the
Lord cares nothing about, and say within themselves, "I do not receive the
blessings I desire; I have tried to humble myself and do the best I know,
and yet I do not receive that faith and power I want, that I am looking
for and expect." You cannot receive it, until you are capable of using
it, neither should you. It would not be wisdom in the Lord to give you
power any faster than you gain knowledge.
Those who humble themselves before the Lord, and wait upon Him with a
perfect heart and willing mind, will receive little by little, line upon
line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little, "Now and
again," as brother John Taylor says, until they receive a certain amount.
Then they have to nourish and cherish what they receive, and make it their
constant companion, encouraging every good thought, doctrine and principle
and doing every good work they can perform, until by and bye the Lord is
in them a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life.
Some of you may remember hearing Elder Taylor preach on that subject
some years ago. He illustrated it most beautifully, I never heard it so
beautifully illustrated, by instancing people's applying their words,
works, and wisdom, in seeking first the kingdom of heaven and its
righteousness, seeking to build up the kingdom of God on the earth, and
exhorted that every other interest should sleep to wake no more; that
every man and woman should have a lively interest for the kindom [sic] of
God, and let narrow, contracted, sectional, individual interests lie
dormant, asleep, severed from us, and taught that our whole lives would
then be occupied in loving God and doing good, until Jesus would form in
us that living fountain from which we may have revelation and gain wisdom.
Can you learn by what you see? Yes, if you know how. No matter what
your circumstances are, whether you are in prosperity or in adversity, you
can learn from every person, transaction, and circumstance around you.
You can learn from yourselves and your neighbours, and can apply all your
energies to the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth, if your
knowledge, interests, hopes, joys, efforts, and labours are concentrated
therein; and you will be in that almighty big root that brother Heber was
talking about in the forenoon.
Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and his Father is the
husbandman. In reality his Father was the root of that vine, and Jesus
was the vine, though he did not tell them that, for they could not
understand anything about it. His Father was the root, the living
fountain, and the God whom we have to serve. Let us be branches and cling
to this vine, hang to the true principles, and all that we do, let it be
to nourish, cherish, love, build, increase, and multiply the size, glory,
power, and excellency of this tremendous great vine. There will be but
one big vine in the vineyard, according to that. Never mind, we will be
the branches, and the roots will fill the whole soil and the branches the
heavens.
It may be just as well to have one tree that will bear a million
bushels of peaches, as to have a million trees that will only produce one
bushel each. All can partake and be filled; all who will can rejoice, and
all can strive to build up this one kingdom, or to nourish this great
tree.
I now wish to particularize a little, and will commence by asking
whether any persons here are sick, and if so, I will tell you what their
disease is, when I get ready. Some men and women fairly get sick, so that
they have to go to bed. What is the matter? "O I feel that I cannot
stand it any longer." What is the matter, sister? "My husband knows
something that he cannot tell me." Do some of you men know something that
you cannot tell your wives? "O, I have received something in the
endowment that I dare not tell my wife, and I do not know how to do about
it." The man who cannot know millions of things that he would not tell
his wife, will never be crowned in the celestial kingdom, never, NEVER,
NEVER. It cannot be; it is impossible. And that man who cannot know
things without telling any other living being upon the earth, who cannot
keep his secrets and those that God reveals to him, never can receive the
voice of his Lord to dictate him and the people on this earth.
Does brother Heber know things that I do not? Yes, facts that have
slept in his bosom from the time I first knew him. Did he ever have a
thought, a wish, or desire, to tell them to me? No. Do I know anything
that I should keep fast locked in my bosom? Yes, thousands of things
pertaining to other people, that ought to sleep as in the silent grave.
Do those things go from me to brother Heber? No. To my wife? No, for I
might as well at once publish them in a paper. Not that I wish to
undervalue the ability, talent, and integrity of woman, for I have many
women to whom I would rather reveal any secret that ought to be revealed,
than to nine hundred and nine out of a thousand men in this Church. I
know that many can keep secrets, but that is no reason why I should tell
them my secrets. When I find a person that is good at keeping a secret,
so am I; you can keep yours, and I mine.
Now I want to tell you that which, perhaps, many of you do not know.
Should you receive a vision of revelation from the Almighty, one that the
Lord gave you concerning yourselves, or this people, but which you are not
to reveal on account of your not being the proper person, or because it
ought not to be known by the people at present, you should shut it up and
seal it as close, and lock it as tight as heaven is to you, and make it as
secret as the grave. The Lord has no confidence in those who reveal
secrets, for He cannot safely reveal Himself to such persons. It is as
much as He can do to get a particle of sense into some of the best and
most influential men in the Church, in regard to real confidence in
themselves. They cannot keep things within their own bosoms.
They are like a great many boys and men that I have seen, who would
cause even a sixpence, when given to them, to become so hot that it would
burn through the pocket of a new vest, or pair of pantaloons, if they
could not spend it. It could not stay with them; they would feel so tied
up because they were obliged to keep it, that the very fire of discontent
would cause it to burn through the pocket, and they would lose the
sixpence. This is the case with a great many of the Elders of Israel,
with regard to keeping secrets. They burn with the idea, "O, I know
things that brother Brigham does not understand." Bless your souls, I
guess you do. Don't you think that there are some things that you do not
understand? "There may be some things which I do not understand." That
is as much as to say, "I know more than you." I am glad of it, if you do.
I wish that you knew a dozen times more. When you see a person of that
character, he has no soundness within him.
If a person understands God and godliness, the principles of heaven,
the principle of integrity, and the Lord reveals anything to that
individual, no matter what, unless He gives permission to disclose it, it
is locked up in eternal silence. And when persons have proven to their
messengers that their bosoms are like the lock-ups of eternity, then the
Lord says, I can reveal anything to them, because they never will disclose
it until I tell them to. Take persons of any other character, and they
sap the foundation of the confidence they ought to have in themselves and
in their God.
If you cannot have confidence in God, try and have it in yourselves.
If you lay on hands for the recovery of the sick, or for the reception of
the Holy Ghost, or to bless or curse, unless you know that God hears you
and will answer you, your administration is liable to fall to the ground.
When you have confidence in yourselves you will have confidence in your
God. You know that God is able to do what you desire of Him in
righteousness, but the question is, will He? No, He will not do for this
people that which we want Him to, until we prove to Him and to the angels
that we are the friends of God, and will never betray Him in any way,
shape, or manner. If we are His friends, we will keep the secrets of the
Almighty. We will lock them up, when he reveals them to us, so that no
man on earth can have them, and no being from heaven, unless he brings the
keys wherewith to get them legally. No person can get the things the Lord
has given to men, unless by legal authority; then I have a right to reveal
them, but not without. When we can keep our own secrets, when we can keep
the secrets of the Almighty strictly, honestly, truly in our own bosoms,
the Lord will have confidence in us. Will He before? No. Are we going
to become secret keepers in any other way than by applying our lives to
the religion we profess to believe? No.
We want confidence in each other. The Bishops, Presiding Elders, and
men in authority seek for the obedience and confidence of the people. How
are they going to get it? By abusing the people? By scolding them? Are
they going to get it by flattering them with smooth, deceitful tongues?
No, they will not get it in any of those ways. There is only one way to
get it. This people are a good people. As I said last Sabbath, they are
willing to do anything to obtain eternal life, to secure to themselves a
seat in the boxes, as brother Orson Hyde termed it. If you have a blank
ticket for a theatre, you may fill it up for the boxes, or the gallery, or
the pit, just as you please. Your lives must fill that blank, and if you
would fill it for one of the best seats in the kingdom, you must live
accordingly.
Do not flatter the man of influence, or the rich man. I know that
the brethren might turn round and say, "Brother Brigham, do you see any of
this, very lately?" The brethren have learned, years ago, that if a man
was to give me a gold watch, a suit of clothes, a span of horses, a fine
carriage, or a purse containing a million of dollars to buy my friendship,
that does not buy it, has nothing to do with it, consequently I have not
much opportunity of knowing whether the people have this spirit or not,
for they do not exhibit it to me. If they feel to give me anything, they
give it because they wish to give brother Brigham something.
If a man should offer to make me a present of a thousand dollars,
though I knew at the time that he would be kicked out of the Church in the
next minute, I would accept it and try to make good use of it. On the
other hand, if a man was in beggary, and owing this Church a thousand
dollars and lacking a suit of clothes, but with his heart right, brother
Brigham would say, "Come along here, you are the man I want to see; come
to my table and eat, and I will also give you clothing to put on." Let a
man have the power of God with him--the Holy Ghost within him--so that
when he talks you can see, feel, and understand that power; so that you
can see and understand that the water of life is in him insomuch that when
he speaks, the sweet words of life flow out; then I am ready to exclaim,
"Come, here, my brother, you are the man for me."
When every person will cease to hang upon the brittle, rotten threads
upon which the world hang, and turn round and say, in the power of God, "I
will make friends and gain my influence, by that power; I will have all I
do have in the name and power of God, and that which I do not thus get, I
will not have," then you will begin to gain the influence you want, and to
have confidence in yourselves and in each other. Can the people have
confidence in each other, and continue to conduct themselves as many have?
No, they have got to be strictly honest.
I will take myself as an example, with all the influence I have in
the midst of this people and over them, (and I really and honestly think
that I have a great deal more influence here than Moses had among the
children of Israel), and suppose that I lie to that man, and deceive that
woman; pilfer from that neighbour, and have what the Indians call two
tongues, talk this way and that way to gain power; and be very plausible,
very soft and kind to those present, and say that the brother who is not
before me is the devil, and when he is gone, that the other is the same;
while each one is with me all is smooth and fine weather; but of the
absent say, that man who was just here, I am glad I have found out his
iniquity, he is full of it; and be dishonest with this and the other
person, falsifying my words here and there, how long would I have
confidence in the midst of this people? I would lose it at once, and
ought to, because I would not be deserving of their confidence.
When a man or woman ought to be chastised, I am able to do it, and I
will do it righteously. If they need a severe chastisement, I can put it
on severely; if a light one, I can bear on with a light hand.
When people come to me, I look at them to see them as they are,
though I am not yet perfect in this. I have not yet the eyes I wish to
have, nor the wisdom. Do I wish to know how they look with man, or to my
brother? No, but how they appear before the God of heaven. If I can gain
that knowledge, if I can know precisely how an individual appears to my
Father in heaven, and be able to look at him with the same kind of eyes as
do the Holy Ghost and holy angels, then I can judge the good or evil in
the person, without further trouble.
That is the method by which I settle so many difficulties. I can go
to the High Council, even should they have forty cases of the most
difficult kind, and if I would dictate, I could wind up the forty cases,
while they would wind up one or two. The reason is this, I bring the
individuals before me, and they cannot deceive. If there is lying,
wickedness, malice, and deception, I will detect them and judge them from
the words that flow from their own mouths. I take the parties and hear
them, and I can know at once as much as dozen witnesses could show, so far
as pertains to the truth in the case. Look at people as the Lord sees
them, and then deal with them accordingly; and be honest with that man,
woman, or neighbour.
Brethren and sisters, you know that often, when you hear that any one
has spoken against you, your feelings are irritated, disturbed by anger,
and you imagine that that person is your enemy, when, in reality, such is
not the case. Are you never liable to err? If your neighbour has spoken
something derogatory to your character, go to that neighbour and say to
him, "I heard that you said so and so, and with such and such reason, and
I connected this and that with it," and you can soon learn the facts in
the case. It is often all right, when we talk calmly together, like
brethren; and we think alike about each other, about this circumstance and
that. When we hear a part of a conversation, we may easily make wrong and
false construction, and thereby bring evil. How many evils do we produce
by this course?
If we take isolated sentences of Scripture, and pick out words here
and there, and place them together, how inconsistent we can make the
Bible. It would be as inconsistent as some individuals now say it is,
whereas, if read by the Spirit in which it was given, it is not
inconsistent.
We often make the consistent acts of our fellow beings inconsistent,
by thinking that some one has done us an injury, when after all the heart
of the person was honest, and no harm was designed. If a brother has
spoken ten thousand words wrong, if he is full of error, full of weakness,
a man of passions like unto ourselves, but is honest at heart, what then?
Overlook their follies, and do not watch for iniquity in our brethren. If
the real sentiments of honesty are in every man and woman, be unsuspicious
of evil intent, and have confidence in their fidelity, and you will have
confidence in yourselves, and will restore confidence in each other, so
that every word will be as the law to each other.
Then when the Lord sees that we have confidence in each other, that
we are full of integrity, that we never forsake each other, nor violate
our covenants, nor the keys of the kingdom, nor are untrue to our God, He
will say, "There is a people I can reveal myself to and tell what I
please, and they will keep my secrets and their own, and no power can get
them from them." This is the way you will get confidence in your God and
in yourselves. We may have confidence in God until doom's day, until we
carry out in our lives all that we now know about God, and it will profit
us little, unless we take a course that He may have confidence in us, and
reveal unto us His secrets, as the Prophets have said, for His secrets are
with the Prophets.
There are other things that I might speak upon, for my mind is pretty
full and fruitful, but I have spoken about as much as my health will
permit.
I feel to wish that I could bless you as I want to, but I have not
yet perfect confidence in myself. If I had, would I not lift the curtain,
that you might see things as they are? I would rend it, so that you might
see heavenly things; though, perhaps, that would not be prudent.
May the Lord enable us to increase in that which we have, and to
continually do and say according to the knowledge we gain. May God bless
us. Amen.
HE THAT LOVETH NOT HIS BROTHER LOVETH NOT GOD--IF WE HAVE NOT CONFIDENCE
IN OUR LEADERS WE SHALL NOT HAVE IT IN A HIGHER POWER--THE CHURCH HOLDS
THE KEYS OF SALVATION--THE PROVIDENCES OF GOD TO THE SAINTS.
A Discourse, by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, March 29, 1857.
I am thankful that the weather has become so mild that we can again
meet in this Bowery, which is large enough to accommodate the
congregation; also that we are here under comfortable
circumstances--happily situated, and trust that for several months to
come, none of the Saints will be under the necessity of coming here an
hour or two before the meeting commences, in order to obtain a seat here,
nor of going away because there is not room.
There has been a good deal said by the brethren who have just spoken
to you, and I have not heard anything but what pleases me, but what I
consider to be correct; their ideas and doctrines are good.
I am happy to see brother Joseph L. Heywood here again. He has had a
very tedious journey, and rather a wearisome sojourn at the Devil's Gate,
during most of the past winter. Many of the brethren and sisters in this
congregation can testify that the Devil's Gate is a place rather subject
to cold and storms, and that hardships are common from that point to this.
Many persons are so constituted, that if you put them in a parlour,
keep a good fire for them, furnish them tea, cake, sweetmeats, &c., and
nurse them tenderly, soaking their feet, and putting them to bed, they
will die in a short time; but throw them into snow banks, and they will
live a great many years. Brother Heywood would have been in his grave
long ago, if he had not led an out-door life, and such is the case with
others; but he is again here, and we have the privilege of seeing him.
It rejoices me to hear the brethren rise up and tell their feelings,
their faith and views. I was much gratified with the remarks made by
brothers William H. Hooper and Robert T. Burton, especially upon the
subject of obedience.
It may at first sight appear strange, and is so to an uninspired
mind, that any people should have a want of confidence and faith in a
righteous man on the earth, a lack which blights their hopes and faith
quicker than it does to lack confidence in their God. This is the case,
however curious it may appear, though we may hear some men declare that
they wish to have such confidence in their leaders as not to enquire
whether this or that is right, but to perform what they are bid to do. No
man will have that degree of confidence, unless it is founded in truth.
Here a question immediately occurs to the mind, will it save the people to
do as they are told by any man upon the earth, if they are in the neglect
of their duty towards their God and do not enjoy the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus Christ? The answer is obvious; no one can have that implicit
confidence in a righteous man, unless that person is in the line of duty.
The difficulty with the whole world in their divisions and
subdivisions, is that they have no more confidence in each other than they
have in their God, and that is none at all, no, not one particle. This
confuses nations, and breaks them up; it weakens them, and they tumble to
pieces. It disturbs cities and countries, and really the seeds of
destruction are within those kingdoms where the people have not confidence
in each other.
The Apostle John, treating upon the love of God that should dwell
within us, writes, "For he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen,
how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" It is impossible. This
subject is not understood by the human family. Naturally they have no
conception of the character called "brother" by the Apostle. As just
observed by brother Hooper, they have in their minds and creeds formed
ideas of a great many characters that they call God. With the majority of
the Christian world there are three Gods in one. With them that one God
is three persons, and still but one, which actually amounts to His being
no God at all. Why? Because He has no body, parts, or passions,
consequently is nothing at all; their idea virtually annihilates the being
they profess to believe to be three in one.
What effect has this doctrine, wherever the influence of the
Christian world extends? Wherever they preach their own doctrine they
destroy every idea of God in the minds of every person they have influence
over, consequently they know nothing of Him, and of coarse [sic] we cannot
expect the people to have confidence in Him. He, knowing the weaknesses
of men, is compassionate; and if they speak against Him, in a manner
derogatory to His character, misrepresenting His person and speaking evil
of His dignity, He attributes that to the delusion and ignorance which His
professedly Christian people have spread so generally in the minds of the
people, and holds them not guilty, in consequence of their ignorance.
Let us even speak against a fellow-being with whom we are acquainted
and do understand, one whom we can see and comprehend, whose life and
conduct we are familiar with, and, unless faults are made manifest that we
have a privilege of exposing in that individual, it will destroy our faith
and confidence, and weaken us more than it will to speak against a being
that we know nothing of. This is reasonable, and is according to good
sound logic, sense, and argument.
It is folly in the extreme for persons to say that they love God,
when they do not love their brethren; and it is of no use for them to say
that they have confidence in God, when they have none in righteous men,
for they do not know anything about God. It is reasonable for the Elders
of Israel to be very sanguine and strenuous on this point. And were I to
be asked whether I have any experience in this matter, I can tell the
people that once in my life I felt a want of confidence in brother Joseph
Smith, soon after I became acquainted with him. It was not concerning
religious matters--it was not about his revelations--but it was in
relation to his financiering--to his managing the temporal affairs which
he undertook. A feeling came over me that Joseph was not right in his
financial management, though I presume the feeling did not last sixty
seconds, and perhaps not thirty. But that feeling came on me once and
once only, from the time I first knew him to the day of his death. It
gave me sorrow of heart, and I clearly saw and understood, by the spirit
of revelation manifested to me, that if I was to harbor a thought in my
heart that Joseph could be wrong in anything, I would begin to lose
confidence in him, and that feeling would grow from step to step, and from
one degree to another, until at last I would have the same lack of
confidence in his being the mouthpiece for the Almighty, and I would be
left, as brother Hooper observed, upon the brink of the precipice, ready
to plunge into what we may call the gulf of infidelity, ready to believe
neither in God nor His servants, and to say that there is no God, or, if
there is, we do not know anything about him; that we are here, and by and
bye shall go from here, and that is all we shall know. Such persons are
like those whom the Apostle calls "As natural brute beasts, made to be
taken and destroyed." Though I admitted in my feelings and knew all the
time that Joseph was a human being and subject to err, still it was none
of my business to look after his faults.
I repented of my unbelief, and that too, very suddenly; I repented
about as quickly as I committed the error. It was not for me to question
whether Joseph was dictated by the Lord at all times and under all
circumstances or not. I never had the feeling for one moment, to believe
that any man or set of men or beings upon the face of the whole earth had
anything to do with him, for he was superior to them all, and held the
keys of salvation over them. Had I not thoroughly understood this and
believed it, I much doubt whether I should ever have embraced what is
called "Mormonism." He was called of God; God dictated him, and if He had
a mind to leave him to himself and let him commit an error, that was no
business of mine. And it was not for me to question it, if the Lord was
disposed to let Joseph lead the people astray, for He had called him and
instructed him to gather Israel and restore the Priesthood and kingdom to
them.
It was not my prerogative to call him in question with regard to any
act of his life. He was God's servant, and not mine. He did not belong
to the people but to the Lord, and was doing the work of the Lord, and if
He should suffer him to lead the people astray, it would be because they
ought to be led astray. If He should suffer them to be chastised, and
some of them destroyed, it would be because they deserved it, or to
accomplish some righteous purpose. That was my faith, and it is my faith
still.
If we have any lack of confidence in those whom the Lord has
appointed to lead the people, how can we have confidence in a being whom
we know nothing about? It is nonsense to talk about it. It will weaken a
person quicker to lose confidence in those who dictate the affairs of
God's kingdom on the earth, than to say "I do not know whether there is a
God or not, and I care nothing about Him." A man or woman will not be
prepared to be taken by the enemy, and led captive by the devil so quickly
for disbelieving in a being they do not know about, as for disbelieving in
those whom they do know.
To say nothing of names, creeds, or titles, brother Joseph taught,
and it is taught to the people now continually, to have implicit
confidence in our leaders to be sure that we live so that Christ is within
us a living fountain, that we may have the Holy Ghost within us to
actuate, dictate, and direct us every hour and moment of our lives. The
people are urged from year to year, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, to live
very near unto the Lord, to forsake every sin, and cling to the Lord with
all our hearts, minds, and souls, so that we may know by the spirit of
revelation whenever truth comes to us.
How many hundreds and hundreds of times have you been taught that if
people neglect their prayers and other daily duties, that they quickly
begin to love the world, become vain in their imaginations, and liable to
go astray, loving all the day long to do those things that the Lord hates,
and leaving undone those things that the Lord requires at their hands?
When people neglect their private duties, should their leaders lead them
astray, they will go blindfolded, will be subject to the devil, and be led
captive at his will. How useless this would be! How unnatural,
unreasonable, and unlike the Gospel and those who believe it!
How are we going to obtain implicit confidence in all the words and
doings of Joseph? By one principle alone, that is, to live so that the
voice of the the [sic] Spirit will testify to us all the time that he is
the servant of the Most High; so that we can realize as it were the Lord's
declaring that "Joseph is my servant, I lead him day by day whithersoever
I will, and dictate him to do whatever I will; he is my mouth to the
people. And I say to the nations of the earth, hear ye the servants I
send, or you cannot be saved." This is comprehended in the remarks just
made by brother Burton, which comprises one of the greatest and fullest
sermons that can be preached to the world. And I wish we had more Elders
to go and preach just such sermons by the power of God, that is, "I know
that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, that this is the Gospel of
salvation, and if you do not believe it you will be damned, every one of
you."
That is one of the most important sermons that ever was preached, and
then if they could add anything by the power of the Spirit, it would be
all right. When a man teaches that doctrine by the power of God in a
congregation of sinners, it is one of the loudest sermons that was ever
preached to them, because the Spirit bears testimony to it. That is the
preaching which you hear all the time, viz.--to live so that the voice of
God's Spirit will always be with you, and then you know that what you hear
from the heads of the people is right. When you do not so live, you are
ignorant; and then when you testify, you testify to what you know nothing
of. Live so that you can know and testify to every principle that is
right, not with mere lip service, but from the heart be able to say truly,
"I know that everything is right."
As I have frequently said to this people, they are a good people. We
are striving to make the kingdom of heaven. Many think that this people
have got to make great sacrifices, but what have we to sacrifice?
Nothing, for all is the Lord's. But suppose that we had something to
sacrifice, they would be willing to do it; they would be willing to do
anything for the sake of salvation. They have already forsaken their
homes and friends, and come here to serve the Lord, and now continue,
shall I say continue to reform? Yes, continue this reformation that has
been talked about. Continue to improve yourselves, to live so that your
faith and knowledge will increase in the things of God, that our minds may
be opened to those things that pertain to our peace and eternal salvation,
and live no more in the dark, whereby you are constrained to say, "I do
not understand the things that are taught, these are great and marvellous
things, they are beyond my comprehension; I do not know why it is that I
feel as I do many times; I have feelings come on me that I cannot account
for."
If you live near to God, and every moment have your minds filled with
fervent desires to keep the law of God, you will understand the Spirit
that comes to you; you will know how to build up the Lord's kingdom, and
increase in every good thing; and it will be one continual scene of
rejoicing instead of mourning. Those who mourn and feel that they have
really endured sufferings and afflictions, and sacrifices to a great
amount for the kingdom of heaven, do not enjoy the Spirit of their
religion. They do not enjoy the Spirit of this Holy Gospel, for they do
not live near enough to the Lord so that Christ is in them like a living
fountain, like a well of water springing up to everlasting life.
The persons who enjoy that Spirit are never sorrowful nor cast down.
They never endure afflictions and mourn because they suppose that they
have sacrificed for the Gospel, but they are always joyful, always
cheerful, with a happy smile on their faces, and, as brother Robert said,
it does make the devil mad. That is true, it makes him mad that he cannot
afflict this people so as to make them have a sad countenance.
When you come across those who have a wonderful sight of trouble,
trouble with their wives and with their neighbours, it is those who do not
live their religion. Those who have the Spirit of their religion feel
hope bound in their feelings, and have a word of comfort for themselves,
their families, and their neighbours, and all is right with them. Let us
make the building up of the kingdom of heaven our first and only interest,
and all will be well, sure.
Have we reason to rejoice? We have. There is no other people on
this earth under such deep obligation to their Creator, as are the
Latter-day Saints. The Gospel has brought to us the holy Priesthood,
which is again restored to the children of men. The keys of that
Priesthood are here; we have them in our possession; we can unlock, and we
can shut up. We can obtain salvation, and we can administer it. We have
the power within our own hands, and this has been my deep mortification,
one that I have frequently spoken of, to think that a people, having in
their possession all the principles, keys, and powers of eternal life,
should neglect so great salvation. We have these blessings, they are with
us.
Have we the visible hand of God with us? We have. Many
circumstances transpired last year with regard to the immediate
providences of God. Can we see the visible hand of the Lord in His
dealings to us this season? We can. Any person who could have numbered
Israel in the valleys of the mountains, and the bushels of grain taken
from the earth last fall, would have said there is not enough grain raised
in 1856 to last the people to the first of April, 1857.
That was so obviously the prospect, that brother Kimball prophesied
that there would be harder times in 1857 than we had seen in 1856. I told
him that I would bring to bear all my faith, and all the power I had, and
all my ability against that prophecy, when he said the times would be
harder this year than they were last. Still there were no human
prospects, visible signs, means, or substance to prevent it, according to
the number of bushels of grain taken from the earth, and the number of
people in this Territory to be sustained therewith. There was a better
prospect for our suffering for want of food this year, than there was in
either 1856 or 1855, but I promised myself that I should exercise my power
against that prophecy. Brother Heber says, "Amen," to that statement now.
He said so then, and I know that he would rather have it fail than to have
people suffer.
Brother Heber says, "The wheat swells." I believe that. It
increases in the granaries. I have believed that principle for many
years. I know that God has dealt with me and with others in a way that
cannot be accounted for upon common modes of reasoning. I have heretofore
mentioned what some may think the trifling circumstance of a man's finding
money in his pocket that could not have been there, unless an angel or
some other person had put it there unbeknown to that man. Flour and wheat
have been found in barrels and bins, after they had been taken out even to
the scraping of the barrels, and that, too, without the owner's knowing
how the stock had been replenished. Who put it there, is not for me to
say; but I know who did not. Let the people guess who put it there.
Have we any visible signs of the providences of God to us? We have,
if men have their eyes open to see for themselves. If this people called
Latter-day Saints could see by the visions of the Spirit the hand dealings
of the Lord as visible as some see, there would be nothing but rejoicing
among us from the oldest to the youngest, from the first to the last, from
the one side of this globe to the other.
We will now turn right round, and ask, are there afflictions? Yes.
People are taken sick and die, and we have not the power to keep them
alive; and I do not think I would, if I had power; and I do not think I
will when I have power, because I then shall have more wisdom than I have
now. Knowledge is power; and as I gain knowledge I gain power. If we
will consider these things, we will see that the visible hand of the Lord
is with us continually.
Let the Latter-day Saints in these valleys of the mountains ask
themselves this question, Do we, as a community, as a Church and kingdom
of God on the earth, as individuals, believe that if we had shut up the
bowels of our compassion last fall, and said to our immigration, "Suffer
and perish in the mountains, I have nothing to spare, I cannot relieve
you," we should have as much grain and substance on hand as we now have?
Would not every man and woman exclaim, "We would have been in poverty and
want?" What has made us rich in this matter? One united effort by this
people to bring men, women, and children out of the snow, and off from the
Plains, and keep them from perishing. "Here are the wheat, the barley,
the corn, the boys, horses, mules, blankets, saddles, &c., go, my
brethren, and bring those persons off the Plains." They went, and that,
too, cheerfully.
Brother Kimball says that the movement prevented his prophecy coming
to pass. If that did it, I wish I could as easily and cheaply turn aside
all prophecies of that kind and nature, for I do not wish this people to
suffer, to go hungry and naked, nor to be sick and afflicted, or in pain.
I want them to live and increase in every good work.
Suppose the whole community should ask themselves this question, Do
you not believe that the Lord has favoured and blessed us in consequence
of our doing right? Yes, we would reply at once, we believe that our
faith to our God and proving ourselves friends to Him and His people, and
being kind to the suffering poor, have caused His blessings to be poured
out upon us, and we are favoured as we are. If the people continue to be
humble before Him, to keep His commandments, to love and serve the Lord,
and forsake those little trifling concerns which pertain to the world, and
to the spirit of the world, which is the spirit of sorrow, anxiety, and
trouble, and get the Spirit of the Lord and live in it, we shall increase
in the facilities of life; we shall have the comforts of life from our
gardens, farms, orchards, flocks and herds, and we shall have means to
gather up the poor from every land.
This is the land of Zion. West of us is a body of water that we call
the Pacific, and to the east there is another large body of water which we
call the Atlantic, and to the north is where they have tried to discover a
northwest passage; these waters surround the land of Zion, and we will
bring the poor home to this land. These valleys are nothing more than a
temporary hiding place for the Saints, and if they will do right here, no
power can disturb them. Be kind to all, to our friends, to the household
of faith, and even to our enemies. Do all you can to save everybody, and
the Lord's hand will be over us for good, and we will be preserved.
Hitherto there has been too much of a spirit to find fault, but I
expect that this spirit is very near kicked out of doors. And you may
still hear some saying, "There are hard times coming by and bye; the mob
are coming; the crickets and the grasshoppers will eat us out." They have
tried that, and I have no more fears about one army than I have about the
other; though the crickets and the grasshoppers are the greatest plague,
for we can hit men, but when you hit one cricket or grasshopper, the air
is at once alive with them, and if you kill one, two come to bury him.
Dismiss all feelings of fear, and say nothing about them. Let it be
the whole aim of the Saints to know how to build up the kingdom of God on
the earth. And if you want to know how to spend your time, inquire from
hour to hour what you can do to do good. If necessary, take off you hat,
and run through the streets for something to do. Go into the garden,
plant potatoes, set out fruit trees, sow peas, and put all kinds of useful
seeds into the ground. And when the devil tells you to do some wonderful
big thing, wait until you become some wonderful big person, and reflect
that you are yet only like one of the people, and must take care of
yourself.
I am glad that we have the privilege of again assembling in this
Bowery, where there is plenty of pure air and the people can be
comfortable. The ground under this shade is yet damp, although we have
had fires burning upon it to make it as dry as possible, and it may be
wisdom for those sisters who wear thin shoes, to bring a small piece of
oil cloth or carpet to put their feet upon. I would rather see the
sisters come to meeting with wooden bottomed shoes, than to come with
their fine morocco shoes and take cold. If you will accustom yourselves
to wearing wooden bottomed or thick soled shoes, you can sit here with
impunity.
Take care of yourselves, and live as long as you can, and do all the
good you can. Let us try to live until we can kick the devils out of this
land, and off from the earth. I want to live for this, to see Zion
redeemed, and the Church and kingdom of God cover the face of the whole
earth, and have one universal reign of peace. May the Lord bless us.
Amen.
OBJECT OF THE EXPRESS CARRYING COMPANY--WHY SUCCESS ATTENDS THE
MINISTERIAL LABOURS OF SOME ELDERS, AND NOT THOSE OF OTHERS--COUNSEL
TO STORE UP GRAIN ENOUGH TO LAST SEVEN YEARS.
Remarks, by President Brigham Young, Delivered at the opening of the
Conference, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1857.
If you will now give me your attention strictly, I will lay before
you some items of business for the consideration and action of this
Conference.
I trust that we have come here for the purpose of acceptably
presenting ourselves before the Lord, to transact business for the
building up of His kingdom in this our day, with pure hearts and fervent
desires to magnify the name of our God, that we may be useful and have
power to establish peace and righteousness upon the earth.
Our religion is first and foremost with us, it is of the greatest
importance of all in this generation, for in it is incorporated the acts
and doings of the Saints in the ordinances of the house of God, to promote
His kingdom upon the earth, to sustain ourselves, gather Israel, redeem
Zion, build up Jerusalem, and prepare for the coming of the Son of Man.
The items of business before this Conference may be considered texts
for the Elders who may speak here to preach upon, though if they wish to
exhort the brethren, to relate a portion of their experience, or tell a
dream or a vision, they have the privilege. But our Conferences are more
particularly for other transactions of business, for the furtherance of
the kingdom of God on the earth.
I will first present the subject of prosecuting our labours and
operations for building the Temple, under our present circumstances and
future prospects. We have deemed it wise and expedient to prepare for
bringing the rock for that building from quite a distance, in boats, which
will be much cheaper than hauling it in wagons, and thus far facilitate
the erection of the Temple.
I will next cite your memories to a mass meeting that was held in the
Tabernacle upwards of a year ago, to take into consideration the propriety
and expediency of establishing an Express and Carrying Company to operate
between here and the States to the east, and California to the west. That
Company has now commenced its business operations. Three companies have
already left this city, and the particular object in view is to establish
places where our brethren can stop and rest, recruit and refresh
themselves until they can continue their journey and arrive in this
valley. Our main object is to make settlements and raise grain at
suitable points and convenient distances, where we can prepare resting
places for the Saints. The last season's immigration I think has prompted
us materially to this action. If we had had settlements at Deer Creek, La
Bonte, below Laramie, and on the Sweet Water, where people can raise
grain, our last year's belated immigration might have had habitations,
food, and other conveniences for comfortably tarrying through the winter,
and thus saved this community a vast expense. This Express Company will
be laid before this Conference, so that you will have an understanding of
it, that you may act knowingly, and give your faith, influence, and means
to accomplish the object of its organization.
We are calling quite a number to go on missions, and are appointing a
portion of them to visit the Canadas. We have a great many Elders
labouring throughout Europe, but more especially in England, and the
Canadas are mostly settled by the same classes of people. True there has
formerly been much preaching in that region, and many churches raised up,
especially in Upper or Canada West, but many have emigrated to the States
and are now with us, and I do not know of an Elder in this Church now
labouring in either of the Canadas. We wish to send a company to labour
there, and gather out the honest in heart.
I would also propose sending missionaries to the States, if we could
by accident, or by foreknowledge, or by revelation, or by any other means,
select and spare from here the right kind of men; in that case we would
like to send a good many there. My reasons are these; there are honest
people by thousands, and scores of thousands in the States, those who have
never yet heard the sound of the Gospel. There are also scores of places
where branches have been raised up, but the inhabitants have so changed
that they now hardly know what you mean when you say "Mormon" or
"Mormonism," and when you talk about the preaching of the everlasting
Gospel, it is almost forgotten by the few that are still remaining in
those places. Other people occupy the place of those who have left, of
those who had been preached to, and children have grown up and taken the
place of their parents; others have moved away, and strangers have moved
in. There are honest people there, and if we could get Elders, to use a
western phrase, of "The right stripe," we could gather multitudes from the
United States. For an example, we sent brother John Taylor to New York
with a number of Elders to preach, labour, and assist him. Some of them
tarried in New York with brother Taylor, visited their families,
connections, friends, &c. for a time, and returned. They did not baptize
any; [sic-punc] with them, "There was no call for preaching, no place to
sow the seed, or distribute the good word of God; they could not find any
who wanted to hear them preach or who wished to know anything of the
Gospel," while at the same time others who felt for the interest of the
kingdom and for the people, stepped forth, and laboured like men, and
found plenty of chances for preaching.
Brother Jeter Clinton was one of the last named class. Brother
Taylor sent him to Philadelphia, and when he got there, those who
professed "Mormonism" were dead, dead, dead; they were withered and twice
plucked up by the roots. Brother Clinton had not been there six months
before the the [sic] Church numbered a great many more than when he went
there. The old members revived, and they began to baptize and to have
calls from the country, and when he left he could probably have employed
from ten to thirty Elders in his field of labour.
The secret of the difference is this, he felt for the kingdom, and
when he went into his field of labour he did not say, "O, how lonesome I
am, how I wish I had my family here; I really wish I was back in the
valley; my spirits are cast down; how bad I do feel." When such persons
endeavor to preach, their preaching is as dry as an old, dead, dried up,
three years old mullen stalk; there is no more juice in them than there is
in that.
Brother Alexander Robbins is a man of that description, and although
he is naturally a good kind and feeling man, one that I think much of, yet
when he spoke from this stand at the last fall's Conference, he was as
perfectly void of sap or juice as any one of those dry posts, and I
reproved the spirit he seemed to manifest. He sat quietly down in New
York with brother Taylor, until he became so dried up that he came home
disbelieving in God, heaven, hell, angels, and religion. He has lost
every particle of the knowledge and spirit that he formerly had.
When brother Clinton and others return, those who have laid aside
self and laboured, asking, "What can we do to win the souls of the
children of men?" they are full of life, full of the good Spirit, full of
animation; their countenances are bright and lively, and when you talk
with them or hear them preach, you can glean and gather truth, life and
salvation from their lips, while others are as lifeless as leached ashes.
If we could spare one or two hundred Elders like brother Clinton and
others to go to Canada and the United States, we could gather scores and
hundreds of thousands of good people from those regions. But reflect for
a moment upon the difference in the conduct of our missionaries and the
treatment they receive. In Texas some have been mobbed, and some have had
no place to preach in. Brother Benjamin L. Clapp, who has lately returned
from a mission there, could scarcely find a place to preach in, although
others at the same time travelled and preached there, and many wished to
hear them.
For another instance I will refer to my own Quorum. When we had
started the work in England, brothers Heber, George A. and Woodruff went
to London. It cost much faith, care, money, and diligence to establish
the work in that place, and after they had baptized about thirty persons,
they came to Manchester to attend a Conference. As soon as the Conference
was over, brothers Woodruff and George A. went to London, and brother
Kimball and I took a tour through the country, and held Conferences; and
when we arrived in London I preached in the first meeting we held after
our arrival, and how many do you think there were present to hear me?
Thirty had been baptized, but brothers Kimball, Woodruff, and Geo. A., the
man who owned the small room that we had hired, and, I think, two other
persons, comprised the congregation. I preached as well as I could,
though it was pretty hard work to pump when there was no water in the
well. Brother Kimball and I staid there eleven days, and when I left the
little meeting-house was crowded to overflowing. What was the reason of
this?
I have spoken against brother Clapp's course in Texas; it sprang from
a want of knowledge. I have also spoken against the course taken by
brothers Woodruff and George A. in London; it proceeded from a want of
tact and turn in those individuals to know how to win the people. When we
found them in London, brother Woodruff was busily engaged in writing his
history from morning until evening; and, if a sister called on him, he
would say, "How do you do? take a chair," and keep on writing and
labouring to bring up the history of the Church and his own.
That was all right and well, in its place; but, if a sister asked a
question, the answer would be "Yes;" and if she asked another, "No;" and
that was the sum of the conversation. If a brother came in, it would be
the same. But brother Kimball would say, "Come, my friend, sit down; do
not be in a hurry;" and he would begin and preach the Gospel in a plain,
familiar manner, and make his hearers believe everything he said, and make
them testify to its truth, whether they believed or not, asking them,
"Now, ain't that so?" and they would say "Yes." And he would make
Scripture as he needed it, out of his own bible, and ask, "Now, ain't that
so?" and the reply would be "Yes." He would say, "Now, you believe this?
You see how plain the Gospel is? Come along now;" and he would lead them
into the waters of baptism. The people would want to come to see him
early in the morning, and stay with him until noon, and from that until
night; and he would put his arm around their necks, and say, "Come, let us
go down to the water."
Thousands of Elders go upon missions, and conduct themselves like a
man by the name of Glover. He was preaching in Herefordshire, and we sent
him to Bristol, about thirty miles distant, telling him to go there and
start the work. He would get up and preach a splendid discourse. He went
to Bristol, and cried, "Mormonism," or the Gospel, and no person would
listen to him. On the next morning he was back at Ledbury, and said, "I
came out of Bristol, washed my feet against them, and sealed them up all
to damnation." That is the way in which some of our Elders operate.
I know that when I have travelled with some of the Twelve, and one of
them has asked for breakfast, dinner, supper, or lodging, we have been
refused dozens of times. Now, you may think that I am going to boast a
little; I will brag a little of my own tact and talent. When others would
ask, we would often be refused a morsel of something to eat, and so we
would go from house to house; but when I had the privilege of asking, I
never was turned away--no, not a single time.
Would I go into the house and say to them, "I am a 'Mormon' Elder;
will you feed me?" It was none of their business who I was. But when I
asked, "Will you give me something to eat?" the reply was, invariably,
"Yes." And we would sit, and talk, and sing, and make ourselves familiar
and agreeable; and before our departure, after they had learned who we
were, they would frequently ask, "Will you not stay and preach for us?"
and proffer to gather in the members of their family and their neighbours;
and the feeling would be, "Well, if this is 'Mormonism,' I will feed all
the 'Mormon' Elders that come." Whereas, if I had said, "I am a 'Mormon'
Elder; will you feed me?" the answer would often have been, "no: out of my
house."
Now, if we could find the "right stripe" that could be spared from
important duties here, we would send a good many Elders to the States.
I will relate another circumstance,--one concerning an Elder who went
on a mission from Nauvoo; and, if I remember rightly, he went through
Indiana. He lives in this place, and his name is James Carroll. He went
into a neighbourhood where there was a Baptist Society, which had recently
built a meeting house. They had heard of the "Mormons," but knew nothing
of the doctrine. They wished him to tarry and preach, and the minister
invited him into his pulpit. He rose, and began to preach "Mormonism," as
he called it; and about the first item that he presented to the people was
nearly the last event that will take place on the earth concerning the
Church. Instead of preaching the restoration and first principles of the
Gospel, almost the first remark that he made was, "You have a pretty
meeting-house, and good buildings and farms; but do you know that the
'Mormons' are coming here to possess the whole of them?"
He never heard Joseph Smith, the Twelve, or any of the Elders that
understood the Gospel, teach any such doctrine, but had probably gathered
the idea from reading the Bible. By the time he had got through with so
short a sermon, the congregation was ready to kick him out of the
neighbourhood, and he ought to have been kicked out of the pulpit at the
first dash. This does not particularly militate against the character of
that man; but many of the Elders do not seem to understand how to gain the
attention and feelings of the people, and lead them in the pathway of
truth.
We have received letters from the East, stating that "There is no
place for preaching there," whereas I really think that there might be
hundreds of Elders selected here, if we could spare them, who could go to
the States and find as good openings for preaching as there are in the
world; at least I would run the risk of it. Had I the choice whether to
go to the States and gather Saints, or to go where the Gospel was preached
by the ancient Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, among the children of
the people who have formerly had the Gospel preached to them, I would
engage to go to the States and gather one hundred Saints to one that could
be gathered from among the children of those who heard Peter, Paul, and
others of the ancient Apostles preach the Gospel.
Reports of the business transactions and condition of the Church and
Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company have been prepared, and will be read, so
that you can understand the true situation of our general financial
affairs. The P. E. Fund is founded upon the principle of everlasting
increase, and if the people do right, or even half right, our means will
increase.
The means arising from the sale of stray cattle, that some like so
well to claim, all go towards swelling the amounts at the disposal of the
P. E. Fund for gathering the poor. Still, when strays are driven into the
general stray pound, you can see men come and swear to this ox and that
cow; and they will bring two or three others to testify to an animal they
claim; and another man will step up and say, "That is my animal;" and he
will also bring three or four witnesses to prove it; and pretty soon still
another comes and claims the same animal; and so on until there are,
perhaps, four or five persons in the pound, each one with his witnesses,
claiming the same animal, and all willing to swear on a stack of Bibles,
as they hope for salvation, that such a creature is theirs, when they must
know that they never saw it before. Such circumstances transpire every
time that stray cattle are driven in. I want to tell you, so that you
cannot fail to understand it, without you are consummate hypocrites and
scoundrels, let stray cattle alone, unless you actually know them to be
yours.
I could name a good many individuals in our own community that would
steal all the cattle that we have, if they knew which were the ones that
we owned. I thought that the reformation had stopped such proceedings;
but as soon as the stray cattle were driven in, a few miserable sneaks
were ready to own them all. Those animals are sold, and every cent of the
means thus raised goes into the P. E. Fund, and the only ones benefited
thereby are the poor Saints in foreign lands. You must stop intruding
upon your neighbours.
If those who are heads of quorums strictly attended to their duties,
the man that does not live according to his late covenants, who violates
the ordinances and laws of the house of God, would be severed from his
Quorum and cut off from this Church; and if they will not do this, we will
do it from this stand. Men must quit swearing and taking the name of God
in vain; they must refrain from lying, stealing, cheating, and doing that
which they know they ought not to do, or they must be severed from this
Church and kingdom.
I will now present a subject which will be a text for the brethren to
preach upon from this stand, viz., the necessity of building store houses
in which to preserve our grain. If we have a fruitful season this coming
summer, we shall have a large amount of surplus grain which we cannot
carry out of the country to market: it must tarry here. And if the people
do their duty in this matter, they will continue to lay up grain for
themselves and for this community throughout this Territory, and for fifty
or a hundred times as many more, until they have enough to last them seven
years. You can figure at that, and learn how much grain you ought to lay
up. If we have, as I believe we shall, a few seasons fruitful in grain,
the staple article that we can cure and preserve, it is our indispensable
duty to safely store it for a time to come. This will be a text for some
of the brethren.
I will say to the missionaries going west to the Sandwich Islands,
California, and Oregon, that we expect to start a herd of cattle from here
as early as they can be driven across the mountains; and if they will
provide their own clothing, bedding, and weapons for defence, we will
furnish them board and transportation to California.
I will now ask the people whether they will do me the favour of
giving me one hundred and twenty-five dollars in money during this
Conference. I will let the brethren and sisters throw in their dollars,
or half or quarter dollars, just as they please, and I want to do what I
please with the amount. And if you will not be satisfied with giving me
$125, you can double the sum, and make it $250; and I wish to do with it
as I please. If I have a mind to give it away immediately, that is
nobody's business.
A few of us contemplate going north this spring. You remember that I
told you at the last fall's Conference that I was going east to help in
our immigration, and you voted I should not go. I did start, and went
over the Big Mountain into East Kanyon creek, but the devil had ears so
ready to hear the prayers of the people and help them, that he made me so
sick that I could not go any further. I do not want any such influence
exercised this spring, for I am going with some of my brethren to take a
pleasure ride, see the country, enjoy ourselves, and recruit our health;
and I wish you to pray for us, give us your faith, and be willing that we
should go. I do not want to be stopped, as I was last fall.
Now comes another item of business. It so happens that this year the
election of officers for this city falls upon to day, as does also the
election of the Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo Legion, which has been
ordered by proclamation by the Governor. Both elections will be held in
the Council House, and we want the brethren to stop there and give in
their votes. For the Lieutenant-General, those from abroad have as good a
right to vote here as if they were at home in Iron County, Davis, Sanpete,
or any other part of our Territory. We have nominated Daniel H. Wells for
the office of Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo Legion, the same person who
has held that position since our settlement in Utah. The polls will be
kept open until sundown.
I have now briefly presented the items which I have noted down.
Other matters will come before this Conference, such as preaching,
exhortation, &c., &c. I will now give way for others. God bless you.
Amen.
THE POWER AND IMPORTANCE OF ECONOMY--DOMESTIC EXTRAVAGANCE
AND MISMANAGEMENT, WITH THEIR BAD RESULTS.
A Discourse, by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1857.
Brother Heber has made a remark which I will take for a text. He
said, "It is whispered about that some of the brethren labouring on the
Public Works are living on dry bread." I want to preach a short discourse
upon this subject, and I will endeavour to do so to the understanding of
those present. I acknowledge that some persons live very poorly, and are
very destitute; but there is not one family out of a thousand in this
Territory of those who live poorly, but what that destitute mode of living
is brought upon them by themselves through their own mismanagement or the
want of economy. For this reason I wish to confine my remarks to the
principles of economy necessary in obtaining a comfortable living.
I have been a poor boy and a poor man, and my parents were poor. I
was poor during my childhood, and grew up to manhood poor and destitute;
and I am acquainted with the various styles of living, and with the
different customs, habits, and practices of people; and I do know, by my
own experience, that there is no necessity for people being so very poor,
if they have judgment, and will rightly use it.
You may take the mechanics that are employed upon our Public Works.
I am very well aware that the great majority of them are splendid
workmen--that they can make fine buildings, with all the mason, and
carpenter, and joiner work, and the painting of the very best quality of
finish; and yet many of them are in poverty. We have some of the very
best workers in brass, iron, wood, &c., that there are in the world; yet
many of them are poor, suffer from hard living, and have to live on bread
and water.
There is no necessity for any persons living on bread and water. We
have not a man at work for us but what has had means put into his hands
sufficient to support from five to twenty persons, and many of them could
lay up from five hundred to a thousand dollars a year, if they would use
proper economy. I comfortably and that, too, in a country where supported
a family when I was poor, [sic-phrase] it was more difficult to do so than
it is here,--where it often was almost impossible to hire to do a day's
work,--where a man would have to run and, perhaps, beg and plead to be
employed to do a day's work; and when the labour was performed, it was
frequently worth twice the amount to get the pay, which would generally be
only three or four bits; though sometimes ordinary mechanics would receive
five or six bits, and good mechanics one dollar or one dollar and a
quarter a day.
I have laboured for fifteen dollars a month to support a family, and
that, too, in a place that was as hard gain for a person to live in as it
is in this city. You could not have the free use of so much as a quarter
of an acre of ground thrown out to the public for a cow to graze upon.
You could not get a stick of wood, although in a well-wooded country,
without paying for it. You could not get a pint of milk, or even of
buttermilk, unless you paid the money for it.
I have worked for nearly all the various grades of wages, and
supported a family since I was quite young. I know how to live and I have
taught my brethren here how to live, and I know how many of them do live.
But you may take a hard-working man, one earning good wages, and though he
carries an abundance into his house, his wife may sit there and toss it
out again. You will find that much depends upon the economy of women, in
regard to the living of the poorer class of the people--of the labouring
class. For instance, let a man buy ten pounds of fresh meat and carry it
home, in the morning the wife will cook up, perhaps, four or five pounds
of that meat for the breakfast of the man, the wife, and a little child.
To begin with, it is often cooked very badly, not properly seasoned,
smoked up, part of it burnt, and the rest raw, so that they cannot eat
much of it; and there is a great platter-full left that cannot be eaten,
and the uncooked portion has probably been neglected until it is spoiled,
and thus nearly the whole is wasted.
Sisters, if you do not believe this, many of you go home and remember
what you cooked this morning, and see the platters full, and the plates
full, and the little messes standing here and there. By-and-by it is not
fit to eat, and it is finally thrown out of door. Is this true? It is.
The reason I say so is because I see it with my own eyes. You may wish to
know where I see it. Among some of my neighbours where I visit, among
some of my own family, and in many places where I go.
If a man is a good husband, and knows how to live, let him teach his
wife how to cook the food he provides, as I have some of my wives, more or
less, notwithstanding I have some excellent cooks; but I do not think that
I have one but what I can teach in the art of cooking some particular
varieties of food, for I have at times been obliged to pay considerable
attention to this matter. And when I go into a house, I can soon know
whether the woman is an economical housekeeper or not; and if I stay a few
days, I can tell whether a husband can get rich or not. If she is
determined on her own course, and will waste and spoil the food entrusted
to her, that man will always be poor.
Some women will set emptyings in the morning, and let them stand
until they sour, and mix up the flour with them, and sweeten it with
saleratus, and then knead it ready for baking; and if sister Somebody
comes in, they will sit down and begin to talk over old times, and the
first they know is, the bread is sour: "Dear me, I forgot all about that
bread," and into the oven she puts it, and builds up a large fire, and
again sits down to visiting with her neighbour, and before she thinks of
the loaf, there is a crust burnt on it from a quarter to half an inch in
thickness. So much of the bread is spoiled; there goes one quarter of the
flour; it is wasted, and the bread is sour and disagreeable to eat; and
the husband comes home and looks sour, and is sour, as well as the bread.
He finds fault, and that makes the wife grieve, and there are feelings and
unhappiness and dissatisfaction in the family. The husband may be a good
man, and the wife may be a good woman, and try to please her husband, and
to do so as much as the old lady did, who said, "It was impossible for her
to please her husband in baking bread; for if it was half dough, he did
not like it; and if it was half burnt up, he scolded about it."
You may say that it is hard work to please a man; yes, and woman too.
But when a man does his duty in providing for a family, there can
reasonably be but little complaint on the part of any sensible woman.
A man may be good and industrious--may be an excellent mechanic, and
in many things a diligent man, as is the case with a number with whom I am
acquainted; yet go to his house and ask, "Have you a pig in your pen?"
"No, I have nothing to feed a pig with; I cannot keep one." Sit down to
his table, and he has not a mouthful of meat from week's end to week's
end, unless he buys a little. "Have you a cow?" "No, I have nothing to
feed a cow; I cannot hire a pasture; and were I to hire one driven to
grass as far as the herd boys go, she would not give milk enough to pay
the herd bill." I have been in worse places than this, and kept a cow.
I have taught the brethren how to live upon less than five, three, or
even two dollars a day for the support of a small family; and when men
complain that they live here on bread alone, they do not reflect that they
do not know how to provide for themselves. Years pass away, one after
another, and I see more and more that there are but very few men and women
that are even capable of taking care of themselves temporally.
You will see women, if their husbands have got fifty cents, who must
buy crackers with it, or something nice. Johnny, Susan, Betsy, and Billy
come along, and want a cracker, and the first you know is that the
crackers are in the hands of the children who are out-doors playing with
them, breaking them up, wasting and scattering them abroad. I will leave
it to you, sisters, if some of you do not act in this manner. When
children crumble up the bread, what do you do with it? You throw it into
the fire. I learned my wife in the first place what the swill pail was
made for, and said to her, do not let one crumb or kernel of anything be
wasted, but put it into the swill pail, and when night came, I had
something to feed the pig with. But often out of door go the pieces of
bread and meat; or if half a gill of corn should be on the floor, it is
swept out of doors, or more frequently into the fire to be wasted.
A great many men do not know that they can keep a pig; but there is
not a family in this city, where there are two, three, four, or five
persons, but what can save enough from their table, from the waste made by
the children, and what must be swept in the fire and out of door, to make
pork sufficient to last them through the year, or at least all they should
eat. When you know enough to put a pig in a pen, do so; and when you have
an opportunity to buy a bushel of corn, oats, or bran, get your bins ready
and lay it away.
I say to the mechanics, especially to those who work for me, make
your bins in the mornings and evenings, and do not spend the time we hire
you to work for us to do your chores in. And another thing I will caution
you about; do not steal the nails from the Public Works. Some of you have
stolen our nails and lumber to work into articles for your own use. Do
not do this.
We pay our mechanics from two and a half to five dollars a day, and
there is no necessity for many of them using more than fifty cents or one
dollar a day throughout the year. Why do you not buy a cow? "I have
nothing to feed her with." Yes, you have. In the course of the season,
you will find a time that you can buy a little straw, and stack it up and
take good care of it. Buy now and then a bushel of bran, or oats, or
corn, and lay it by. When you have done your day's work, take your axe,
cut up the straw, throw a little meal on it, give it to the cow, and sit
down and milk her yourself, unless your wife is a good hand to milk, and
can attend to it better and more conveniently than you can; in that case,
let her do the milking, but do not set six or eight years' old children to
stripping the cows.
Purchase cows, for if we have not already supplied you with cows, we
are able and willing to do so. Most, if not all, have already been
furnished with cows. What did you do with the calves? "We sold them for
a trifle." Why did you not raise them? Do you not know that they would
very soon be valuable? No, but you waste your calves, neglect buying
pigs, and live without milk, and many of the easily procured comforts of
life. Is there any neceesity [sic] for this? No, there is not, if people
will try to use a little economy.
Go round this city now, and probably you will not see one garden out
of twenty, even where men have lived here four or five years, that has a
single fruit tree growing in it. Have they set out anything? Yes, some
cottonwoods; but they would not set out a peach tree, if you would give it
to them. In many lots there is not a fruit tree, or currant bush, or
anything to produce the little necessaries to make a family comfortable.
If I lived as I used to, I would have my cow, and she would give
milk, and would not stray off; for I would always have a little handful of
food to give her when she came up at night; I would also feed her a little
in the morning, and at night she would come for more. I would keep my pig
in the pen, and have a few fowls to lay eggs. I would raise my own pork,
and in the spring I would not have to run to the Public Works and say, "I
have not anything to eat."
It is a shame that men and women do not pay more attention to the
principles of economy in living. They want to have money to go to market
and buy everything ready made. They want to have somebody feed them. I
have thought, many times, that some persons would not be satisfied, unless
we baked plum puddings, and roasted beef for them, and then fed them while
they were lounging in big easy chairs; and still perhaps they would think
that they were ill treated, if we did not chew the meat for them.
I worked hard when I first gathered with the Saints. I had to walk
two miles to my labour, and the sun seldom, if ever, shone on my work
before I had my tools in my hands and busily engaged; and I rarely laid
down my tools so long as I could see to use them. In the morning I would
get up and feed my cow and milk her, and do the other out-door chores
while my wife would be preparing breakfast. My pig was in the pen, and I
would gather a little here and a little there, and a day would not pass
without its having sufficient food. Why do you not think of these things?
Because you will not.
Sisters, if you cannot properly attend to your bread-making, and
manage to not let any more flour be wasted, tie a string round one of your
fingers so tight that it will hurt you, and every time you think of the
string, think of what brother Brigham tells you. When the emptyings are
in the flour, think of the string, also when the bread is put in the oven;
and if you are still afraid that you will forget, tie the string a little
tighter. And after your bread is beautifully baked, do not let a crumb of
it be wasted.
When your husband brings home meat, exercise sufficient judgment to
enable you to cook such portion as will be eaten, which is far better than
so much placed upon the table that a large part of it will be wasted.
Then take care of that which remains uncooked, put a little salt upon it,
and put it in a cool place where it will keep a few days, and you will not
be obliged to throw half of it away.
You may hear some women here saying, "Husband, can you not go to the
store and get me some ribbon? I want a bonnet and a pair of new shoes.
Can you not get me some lining for a bonnet? I wish you would get me a
new dress, I have not had one for a whole month, and I want to go a
visiting; I cannot bear to wear these old dresses so often. I want a few
aprons and a few pairs of stockings." The man then has to buy the
bonnets, the linings, the dress patterns, &c., and also to hire them made;
and he has to buy aprons, shoes, and stockings, and even the garters that
are worn on the stockings. There is not judgment, economy, and force
enough in some women, to knit their own garters.
Let me tell you one thing, husbands; determine this year that you
will stop buying these things, and say to your wife. "Here is some wool;
knit your own stockings, or you will not have any; you will have to
prepare the cloth for yourselves and children: I will provide the wool,
the wheels, &c.; and if you will not make the cloth, you may go without."
Also raise flax, and prepare it for the women to manufacture into summer
clothing.
I remember going into a friend's house, one afternoon, when I was
quite young: I think I was about fifteen; and pretty soon a couple of
neighbouring women came in to visit. They had not been in the house more
than twenty minutes before the woman of the house went and brought out a
pillow, and began to rail against her husband, saying, "He is a dirty,
nasty man; he is the filthiest man in the world; that is the pillow he
sleeps on." I thought, you miserable fool, Why do you not wash that slip?
Those women see that the blame rests on you, and not on your husband. And
she continued telling them how nasty, filthy, and lazy he was. I knew
enough about a family, at that early age, to know where the fault lay. At
the same time there was plenty of wool and flax lying in her chamber, for
I saw them; and a wheel and the other implements were on hand, all of
which the husband had toiled for. He had also provided the cows, flour,
and meat in abundance; but because he did not do everything, he was a
"nasty, lazy man." He must feed the hogs, spin the wool, wash the
pillowcases and sheets, and do everything else, or be bemeaned by his
wife. I said to myself, I expect I shall be married when I am old enough,
and if I get such an animal as you are, I will put hooks in her nose to
lead her in a way you have not thought of.
I have seen a great many persons live in the neglect of all the
comforts of life, because they would not take hold and make themselves
comfortable. Others do not know what to do with the comforts of life,
when they have them. I have been in places where people had an abundance,
and yet they lived, figuratively speaking, at death's door, with regard to
food.
I recollect once walking up to a house in Illinois, where a young
woman was sitting just within the door dressed up, I may say, within an
inch of her life, in calico that cost ten or twelve cents a yard in my
country; and she was, according to her ideas, titivated out to the
ninety-nines. Fourteen milch cows, with calves by their sides, were
feeding on the prairie. I first asked her, "Can I buy some butter here?"
"No, Sir." "Can I buy a little milk?" "No, sir." I then asked her
whether her father owned those cows. "Yes, sir." "Do you milk them?"
"No, sir; only a little in the morning to put in the coffee." I wanted to
laugh in her face, but politeness forbad me. There stood fourteen new
milch cows, and not a drop of milk in the house, nor a pound of butter,
and everything else was in keeping. An abundance of good things was
around them, and yet they had nothing comfortable and wholesome.
It is just so with some people here. Every facility is in the
possession of this people for living in the very best manner, if they
would only learn how, and practise upon that knowledge. How much do you
have to pay for your cow's running on the range, or for the use of a lot?
Nothing. How much rent do you pay for your land? Not any. What hinders
you from raising something to feed a cow? Nothing. Who hinders you from
planting your garden with corn, and saving the suckers and the fodder?
Who hinders you from raising carrots, parsnips, squashes, &c., to feed a
cow with through the winter? This you can do on a little more than a
quarter of an acre, but will you do it? No; many of you will not. Does
any one hinder you? No; and yet some of you complain that you live
poorly, and lay the blame upon me and brother Kimball, and brother Wells,
and those men who dictate the Public Works.
We pay the public hands higher wages than they earn, and if they are
obliged to live on bread alone from day to day, it is for want of economy
and proper management. Am I to blame? No. Will I milk your cows for
you? No. Will I buy butter for you? No; we will give you all that is
brought in on tithing, and when we have done that, you may calculate to do
without, or make your own butter. I know families that milk one cow for
eight or ten in the family, and yet have butter on the table all the time,
and occasionally sell a little. Others have six or eight cows, and seldom
have any butter in the house; they do not take care of what they have.
Instead of people being poor, we already have too much, unless we
take better care of it. I heard a man who is living in this city--one who
has always been well off--state that he used to keep twelve cows when he
first came here, and was often nearly destitute of milk and butter. After
a few years, the number of his cows was reduced to six, and he said that
the six did him more good than the twelve had done. In two years more,
they were reduced to two, and the two cows have done him much more good
than the twelve or the six did, for they could be and were more properly
attended to.
Let me have the privilege of dictating every chore about my house,
and I would soon put everything right. I do not have that privilege, for
I have so many and so much around me, that I have to depend upon others.
During the past six years, I have seldom kept in my yard less than
thirteen cows for the use of my family, and there has not been one year of
that time that we have had much more than milk enough the year round to
put in the tea and coffee. I have directed the men who feed my cows to
take a course to prevent such a variation in the supply of milk. I have
told them to feed the cows thus and so; to give them so much in the
morning, and so much at night, and to allow them as much water as they
would drink. And after all, though perhaps I would not go to the barn as
often as once in the week, I have frequently seen from a peck to a bushel
of good wheat meal shovelled into the yard out of one cow's trough. And
when I have asked what does this mean, "Why, such a brother wanted to go a
visiting, and would not be back for three days, so he put the three days'
feed before the cow at once." Again, I might remark, "This cow looks
poor; I have thousands of feed to give her; what is the matter?" "She eat
until she nearly killed herself, and we have just made out to save her,"
and that is all the satisfaction I would get. It is too often a perfect
waste and destruction under my own nose, because I cannot find time to
look after my private affairs.
I have asked myself, Shall I go and attend to my own business, or let
it go? And I have replied, I will let it go to hell backwards rather than
neglect my public duties. I will not neglect my public duties, if my
property all goes to destruction--if we do not have a drop of milk from
this time henceforth and forever. During the past winter, my large family
have had three cows, and they have done me six times more good than ever
the thirteen did. I prevailed upon one or two of my women to do the
milking for the first time, whereas heretofore I have had to hire Jim, and
Jack, and Peter Gimblet to do the milking, and they would often pound a
cow until she would not give down her milk, and would kick her half to
death, and then half milk her, and ruin everything about me. Three cows
now do us more good than fifty would have done four years ago, under the
old plan.
I expect that all persons who will not try to help and take care of
themselves the best they can, will see the time when they will wish they
had done so; yet I would like to turn away the evil day from them, if I
can possibly do it, by correct teaching and example. All persons that
will not try to take care of themselves, will see a day of sorrow, and
will regret the waste of time misspent in this life.
When I laboured, I did the milking and feeding most of the time, and
fed the pig, and attended to all the outdoor chores; though, at the same
time, if I was absent, I had a wife, after I came into this Church, who
was always ready to feed pigs, milk and feed cows, and work in the garden,
or do anything that should be done, so far as she was able. Wives, go
into the garden and raise the salad and numerous other articles within
your judgment and strength. Who hindered you from making a little vinegar
last year? People are frequently running round and asking, "Where can I
buy some vinegar?" When I was keeping a house, if my neighbours had a
million hogsheads of vinegar, I had no need to buy a spoonful of it, for I
would make a plenty for my own use, and would have eggs, butter, and pork,
of my own producing, and manage to secure beef, and salt it away nicely,
and we had all the essentials for comfortable diet.
Will the people continue to live? Many of them will merely manage to
stay, just as a family did in Illinois. During a conference held in their
neighbourhood, we would sit down at the table, in the centre of which was
a great big milk-pan piled full of lean beef, and sour bread to eat with
it. After awhile, a plate of butter would be brought on, quite white, and
full of buttermilk; and those articles comprised our dinner. When Sunday
morning came, we had the rarity. In the mean time, I found out who owned
the farm, the sheep, the horses, the cows, the oxen, the turkeys, the
geese, the fowls, and the fine orchards. They were all owned by Esquire
Walker. On Sunday morning, we sat down to the meat and bread, as usual,
and clean butter was on the table that time, if I recollect rightly; but
there was one plate with something upon it that I had not deciphered. I
looked at it carefully, and by and by I concluded that it faintly
resembled a pie. Sister Walker came along, saying, "Brother Young, there
is some pie; it is peach pie; do eat some." It was made of dough rolled
out into a thin cake, and put on a plate, with a thin streak of poor,
refuse, fuzzy peaches that had been merely halved, and the pits taken out;
and then another thick tough crust put over them. I took a piece, and
said to brother Kimball, What is this? at the same time giving him a wink.
"Why, brother Young," replied Mrs. Walker, "It is peach pie." I remarked,
Brother Kimball, I never saw the like before in my life; did you?"
"Never." I went into the orchard, where they had been making brandy out
of the best peaches for three or four weeks. Could they be put into a
pie? No; but they must use the little, nasty, withered up ones.
I have related that circumstance to show you how much they knew about
living. That family had plenty of fowls, cattle, and milk; and if they
had known how to manage their abundance, they would have had every comfort
of life served up in the richest and best style. They could also have
made hundreds of pounds of maple sugar, which is the best of sweetening;
for they had a sugar orchard on the farm. Yet, when I was there, they had
a house with five or seven beds in one room; and when you walked across
the floor, the planks would go clatter-to-bang. And when they wanted to
see in the day time, they had to open the door, or draw up to the
fireplace, and benefit by the light that came down the chimney. I asked
Esquire Walker why he did not put a good floor in his house, and put in
windows. He replied, "I have been thinking I would, for several years.
Friend Young, I have a good deal of money and property on hand, and I
think of going to Nauvoo, to invest several thousand dollars." I state
this to show you that many people do not know what to do with what they
have.
You may see some little girls around the streets here with their
mothers' skirts on, or their sun bonnets, and with their aprons full of
dirt. Your husbands buy you calico, but you do not know what to do with
it. It is to be carefully worn until the last thread is worn out, and
then put into the rag bag to make paper with.
Some men do not know what to do with their means. You may take the
poorest mechanic here, and one who has nothing but bread to eat, and you
may see him paying half a dollar or a dollar for a meal of victuals at the
Globe. You may see the barber shops crowded with our poor mechanics, who
pay from three to five dollars a quarter for being shaved. I bought a
razor, when I began to shave, that cost thirty-seven and a half cents, and
used it for fifteen years. Some black their boots, so that they will not
last more than two or three months. I keep my boots well oiled, wear then
two or three years, and then give them to the poor.
Nearly all who grumble about their poor scanty fare, would be rich if
they would do as I do. Take care of your articles of food, of your
clothing, of your boots, and hats, and you will have plenty; and let the
women take care of what is taken into the house. If you do not go to now
and prepare for the day of trouble, you will be sorry, and will lament and
mourn.
I now want to tell you the feelings of several in this community: "I
do not want to build a good house, because I shall have to move away by
and bye; our enemies will come and possess it. I do not want to lay up
corn, because our enemies will come and take it from me." If this people
will do as they are told, will live their religion, walk humbly before
their God, and deal justly with each other, we will make you one promise,
in the name of Israel's God, that you will never be driven from the
mountains. And instead of mobs coming here to break open your granaries,
they will come to this people, bringing their gold, and their silver, and
their fine things, and plead with them for something to eat.
I told you last Sabbath, that if this people had not stepped forward
to help the poor last fall, you would have seen harder times in 1857 than
you did in 1855 and 1856.
Let us keep in the favour of the Lord, and be his friends, live to
our covenants, love the Lord, and walk uprightly in all our acts and
dealings, so that we will not be afraid to have them scanned by the Lord
and His angels, and all good men on the earth; and we can stand justified.
May the Lord bless you. Amen.
JOURNEY TO THE NORTH--UNANIMITY AND PEACEFUL ORDER OF THE
COMPANY--GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY TRAVERSED--GOOD
CONDITION AND BLESSINGS OF THE SAINTS IN ZION.
Remarks, by President Brigham Young, Made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, May 31, 1857.
We have accomplished our short and speedy journey to the North in
safety and in peace, and again have the privilege of assembling with you
in this Bowery for the purpose of worshipping the Lord our God, for which
we are thankful. Every heart responds to these sentiments, and we give
glory to our Father and to our God. His hand is over us for good; He has
preserved us, He has marked out our path. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, the God of the Patriarchs of old, of the ancient Prophets and
Apostles, of Joseph and of this people, is our God--the only wise and true
God, our Saviour. It is him that we look to; in him we trust, and from
him we receive all our blessings.
I believe that every heart is filled with thankfulness, and is also
measurably filled with joy and peace. I can truly say to you, my brethren
and sisters, that I am thankful to you, as well as to my Father in Heaven;
for I have felt the strong cord of faith in my absence arising from this
people to our Father and our God in our behalf. And I have no doubt but
that our brethren who have just returned from their missions to the East
can testify to the same. They have felt that the faith of the Saints has
been in their behalf; they have been sustained and upheld, and brought
through their trials by the arm of Jehovah, by the faith of the Saints.
The brethren have done me a kindness, and I am thankful to them for
it. I am also thankful that I live in the midst of a people whose hearts
and faith are measurably one, that what they rightly ask for is granted
unto them; and that when they feel to bless an individual or a people,
that individual or people is blessed; and when they feel it a duty that
the Lord should stay the wicked in their progress, their faith
accomplishes their desire. I am thankful that I am in the midst of such a
people--that I am numbered with you, my brethren and sisters in the gospel
of salvation.
I have sustained, I believe, a good character before our Father and
our God. I believe that your faith has been united with ours to
accomplish that which ought to be performed; and on this occasion I am
thankful that I have had your prayers, and have accomplished the business
proposed. I requested the people to have faith for us, and to willingly
release us to visit the northern country. They voted that they would do
so, and their acts have proved that their faith was and is in accordance
with their votes.
On our journey, I can truly say that we had perfect peace. In my
travels with the Saints, up to this day, I can truly say that I never had
the pleasure of journeying with so peaceful and orderly a company as the
one with which I travelled to Salmon River. They were schooled and
instructed, and knew how to contribute to the comfort of each other, and
performed every duty in peace, without noise, without strife, without
contention. Every man was at his post, performing the duties assigned
him, and that, too, in the faith of the Gospel, with a perfect resignation
to the requirements upon him. I believe that I have never seen men
together, to anywhere near the same number, who were so united as the
company I have travelled with this spring.
We took up our line of march on the morning of the 24th of April, and
were gone one month and two days, during which time we travelled 763
miles, and that, too, over a very rough country, 381 1/2 miles out. Only
one accident occurred worthy of mention, and that happened on the evening
after we drove out of Fort Limhi. While chopping some fire-wood, brother
Franklin Woolley had the misfortune to cut his foot, but the wound is
already so far healed that he is walking about.
We did not lose an animal, though we left two at the Fort. Brother
Woolley's was the only accident that occurred in our camp; and I do not
think that I heard one cross word from man or woman during the journey,
unless it was from myself. I think if any body was out of humour, or
cross, or irritated, it must have been myself, for I did not see anybody
else so; and I endeavoured to keep my own temper as cool as possible.
I feel to bless the brethren who accompanied me and those we have
visited, and I feel to bless the brethren, with all that pertains to them,
who have tarried at home. Strict industry and quietness have marked well
their doings in my absence, so far as I have seen or been informed. The
improvements in the settlements we have passed through bespeak a
contented, industrious spirit, and this place bespeaks faith and industry
during our absence.
Our crops look well, and I find that the brethren have attended to
making things comfortable about their houses so far as I have seen, though
as yet I have not been much about the city. The Temple Block indicates
hard labour; and I feel that the brethren are united in the great work
that is upon us, and I am thankful for it.
I could give you a detailed account of our journey, and a description
of the country through which we have passed; but perhaps it is unnecessary
to-day, though I will say, that I had not received, from all the northern
travellers with whom I had conversed, hardly one correct idea of that
region of country. I have asked several who had been there to describe
Salmon River Valley and the intermediate country, the quality of the soil,
the nature of the climate, the positions of the mountains, &c.; but I must
say that, when I came to travel through the country, I might readily
suppose that I had never conversed about it with a man who had been there.
I have frequently asked with regard to the location of Fort Hall, and the
replies have been, "It is built near Snake River." Is there anything of a
valley? "Yes, something." Is there any timber there? "I think there is
pretty plenty of timber on the river, such as cottonwood, quaking asp, and
willows." Is it anything of a country for settling? "I should think
likely it might be." Is there any timber in the mountains? "I should
presume there is." How are the mountains situated? "Similar to other
mountains in other countries." That is about all I have ever been able to
learn of the country, previous to my late journey.
When we began to approach Fort Hall, we learned that we could see
over it and all around it to a great distance; and, if our eyes had been
good enough, we might have seen the little Fort some 30 miles before we
reached it. It is located on Shanghi Plains. From the Rocky Mountains,
at the source of Snake River, this plain extends some 150 miles to 200
miles in a westerly and south-westerly direction; and from the mountains
south of Snake River to those north is a distance of some 90 miles. I
never had this idea before, nor could I get it from any man I had
conversed with. It is a vast desert plain, and we called it Shanghi
Plain. I think it is as desert a country as ever was brought together to
aid in holding the earth from parting asunder.
Upon the banks of Snake River, when it does not overflow, there is a
lengthy, narrow strip of good soil, varying from a quarter of a mile to
ten rods wide, and in some places not six inches wide. It is a sterile,
barren, desert country, filled with belts of rock and sand. As we passed
over some portions of Shanghi Plain, the brethren undertook to remove the
stones, so that we might drive our waggons with a little more ease to
ourselves and less danger to our vehicles. I begged of them not to take
all the rock out of the road; for, if they did, there would be nothing to
travel on.
Much of the track in that region was a perfect bed of rock covered
with occasional strips of sand, which much retarded the progress of our
teams. I wished the sand and the rock to lie there, for I was confident
that, if they were taken away, California and Oregon would be separated
from the States by a vast gulf.
Malad Valley, north of Bear River, has been considered a pretty
desolate, cold, hard, sterile valley; it was so looked upon by us, as we
passed through it on our way North. At the same time, we considered it a
tolerably good grazing country, and thought that people could possibly
live there. But after we had travelled over the Basin rim into Bannack
Valley, descending a mountain, beside which the one we call the Big
Mountain is a mole hill, down through the little Bannack Valley on to
Shanghi Plain; and travelled north-easterly and north-westerly, almost in
a semicircle, to Spring Creek; then up Spring Creek over to Salmon River;
and wended our way down that stream, through swamps and willows, and
climbed over points of bluffs to keep from being mired; and had paid our
brethren a visit, and returned again to Malad Valley [sic-no punc] It
looked to us like one of the most beautiful valleys that any person had
ever beheld; while, before this experience, we thought that nobody could
live there; and I expect that, if we had gone a few hundred miles north,
it would have looked still better to us; for the further we went north the
further we found ourselves in the northern country. And if the Malad is a
good valley, we can go further north to those not quite so good; and the
further we go north the less good characteristics are connected with the
valleys, except in the articles of fish, water, and, in some instances,
timber; and when people are obliged to live in the north country, that
will be high time for them to go there, [sic-punc] That is about the
amount of the geographical part of our journey that we shall now present,
though I think that I am pretty correct in my observations, and could mark
out the road, the mountains, the valleys, and streams, and could sketch a
tolerably good map of the country.
I have accomplished what I designed to accomplish, and I believe the
brethren will join with me, at least, on one point, viz, that we started
from here to rest the mind and weary the body; and so far as the body is
concerned, I believe all parties will agree with me in saying that we have
done that most effectually. I see one man that went for his
health,--brother East. I expect that it will prove a benefit to him.
Others also went for their health. It is a hard medicine to take, but the
result will be beneficial.
I rested my mind. From the time I left this city until my return, I
do not think that this valley, this Tabernacle, my own house, or any of my
family scarcely ever came before me to reflect upon. We spent part of the
first Sabbath at Box Elder, and on the next we were camping away up Snake
River, where we held meeting in the forenoon.
A number of the brethren spoke, and I told them that I would say a
few words, and relate some of my feelings, especially those pertaining to
the journey and myself; but I could not have told, from my sensations,
whether I had been from home a week, a month, or a year; and I could not
fully realize whether I ever had a house or lived in it, or ever had any
family, only those that were with me. This was a blessing to me. My mind
was so taken from the cares that surround me here, that it was perfectly
relaxed into an easy state of rest; and I had no anxiety, not in the
least, about one care that had formerly been upon me; or whether I ever
saw this valley, this congregation, or my family again; or ever saw any
other country than the one where I was at the time. All my home
reflections, desires, and cares were as far from me as the east is from
the west.
Whether this was the case with others I cannot tell, but I believe
they are all joined in saying that their bodies were most thoroughly
tired. I feel that I am renewed, though my body has been very tired since
I returned. But I am becoming rested, and I now feel just about right. I
feel that I have renewed my strength, renewed the vigour of my body and
mind; and I believe that I am as ready to act in any capacity now as ever
I have been in my life, and a little more so; for I hope, as I grow old,
to grow wise. As I advance in years, I hope to advance in the true
knowledge of God and godliness. I hope to increase in the power of the
Almighty, and in influence to establish peace and righteousness upon the
earth, and to bring all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, even all
who will hearken to the principles of righteousness, to a true sense of
the knowledge of God and godliness, of themselves, and the relation they
sustain to heaven and heavenly beings. I hope to increase and advance, as
I do in days and years, in the wisdom and the knowledge of God, and in the
power of God; and I pray that this may be the case, not only with myself,
but with all the Saints, that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of
the truth, and be made perfect before Him.
There never has been a day for ages and ages, not since the true
church was destroyed after the days of the Apostles, that required the
faith and the energy of godly men and godly women, and the skill, wisdom,
and power of the Almighty to be with them, so much as this people require
it at the present time. There never was that necessity; there never has
been a time on the face of the earth, from the time that the church went
to destruction, and the Priesthood was taken from the earth, that the
powers of darkness and the powers of earth and hell were so embittered,
and enraged, and incensed against God and godliness on the earth, as they
are at the present. And when the spirit of persecution, the spirit of
hatred, or wrath, and malice ceases in the world against this people, it
will be the time that this people have apostatized and joined hands with
the wicked, and never until then; which I pray may never come.
I feel thankful for the privilege of lifting up my voice before you
this day, my brethren; I feel that it is a great privilege. There is no
other people on the earth that are blessed like this people, though some
of them say they are not blessed, because they have trials,--that they are
not blessed as they wish to be, because they have cares upon them, because
they are persecuted and hated. But I say that in all this you are
blessed, if the words of the Saviour are correct, which you and I believe.
He said to his disciples formerly, which will also correctly apply to the
Saints in our day, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for
my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in
heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." If
this is not now done to perfection by the world, wait a little while, and
it will be. The world will hate us to perfection; and if they have not
spoken all manner of evil against us, falsely, it is because they have not
knowledge enough to do it. At this time there is no falsehood which they
can invent, but what they are active in their service to their father the
devil against the Saints; consequently, according to the words of the
Saviour, "Blessed are ye."
We know that we are blessed, and God knows it, if we love the Lord
our God; and our works prove that we do. Blessed are the Latter-day
Saints, if they love God and keep His commandments. And, let the world
revile them, and do what they will, we are blessed, because we have the
words of eternal life, and know how to perform, and are actually
performing the works, to secure to ourselves an eternal salvation and an
existence in the presence of our Father and God, while they will be wasted
away, and be destroyed from the earth, and from every kingdom where there
is peace and righteousness.
We are blessed, and we may never expect our happiness and heaven
until we gain a perfect victory over the devil, hell, and the grave; and
that we cannot do in this mortality; but we can conquer to a certain
degree, and gain admission into the favour of our Father and God, and
receive His promise to be received into His celestial kingdom, when we
shall have a perfect victory and power over everything that is evil. I
will give way for others. May God bless you. Amen.
PRACATICAL RELIGION--SIMPLICITY--TEMPORAL SALVATION--ADVANTAGES OF
UTAH AS A SETTLEMENT FOR THE SAINTS--FALSE REPORTS, ETC.
Remarks, by President Brigham Young, Made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, a.m. of June 7, 1857.
I am thankful for the privilege of assembling with the congregation
of the Saints on another day that is set apart to worship God. I delight
in hearing the servants of the Lord speak of those things that pertain to
life and salvation. Practical religion is what we all need, to prepare us
to enjoy that which we have in our anticipations--that which we hold in
our faith. Merely the theory of any religion does people but little good.
This is the great failing of Bible Christians, as they are called. They
have the theory of the religion of which the Bible testifies, but the
practical part they spurn from them. This is why the Latter-day Saints
have become so obnoxious to the Christian world. They believe in the
practical part of the religion of which the Scriptures are a history. You
may take the plan and details of former Christianity; but, unless it is
reduced to practice, it will not benefit the people.
I delight extremely in plain simplicity. Brother Kimball desires to
be plain and simple, even like a child. I delight in this. I believe,
according to my feelings, that if I had all the mastery of language that
has ever been obtained by the learned, my spirit would delight more in
childlike conversation, and that, too, in a simple language, than in the
most learned literary style that is used. A plain clear method of
expressing ideas is the most pleasing to me. I always delight to hear
brother Kimball speak, and I will take the liberty of saying to this
congregation that brother Heber C. Kimball, in his spirit and in his
faith, I do believe, is as true, as faithful, and correct, as any man that
ever lived; but he has not that peculiar mastery of language that some
have. He does not tell the people all that is in his mind: that would be
impossible. He conveys a great deal in a few words.
There is no person that ever heard me complain of or disapprobate in
the least anything that brother Kimball says. The reason is simply this:
I do know his spirit, and what is in his mind. Whether he tells one
fourth of it, or speaks it to the right or to the left, or whether he hits
a particle of it, I know what he means, and know that his meaning is just
right. If he was blessed with the talent to clearly convey and explain
the ideas that are in his mind, I will venture to say that he would be one
of the greatest speakers that ever spoke on this earth, for true
knowledge, sentiment, and principle. We need the spirit by which he
speaks and lives in order to understand all that he means by his
expressions. I say this, not having any fear in my mind that brother
Kimball will, in his feelings, cast any reflections upon me for thus
expressing myself.
I know that I am a great many times placed under difficulty to bring
before the people the truth in a manner plain and simple enough to reach
their understandings; and I know that this is the case with others.
I have seen Joseph when it was impossible for him to give the people
his views upon a subject that he designed to speak upon.
Such is the case with myself; such is the case with every man that I
ever heard speak. It is so with brother Kimball and many others who arise
to address you here. When some rise here to present a dish of mental food
to the congregation, they will be two hours, perhaps, in bringing out a
dozen kernels of corn; but brother Kimball produces a full dish of both
corn and beans in one quarter of the time, or less; and we have a fine
soup and sweetmeats mixed with it--a taste here and a taste there. If it
could be comprehended by the people, they would generally find as much in
one of his sermons as there is in forty or two hundred sermons delivered
by those flowery speakers that sometimes address you.
Brother Kimball was afraid of tiring us. I said that I should never
be afraid of being tired with eating sucketash so long as I had room for a
single spoonful. I generally deal out the sucketash, and I do not care
whether there are two beans to one grain of corn, or one bean to two
grains of corn; for those who like the beans best can pick them out, and
those who prefer the corn can select it out. I really like the sucketash
that brother Kimball has just laid before you, for it contains ingredients
that pertain to our salvation.
I told you last Sabbath, and I can tell you again to-day, what
brother Heber has just told you, that the enemy of all righteousness never
was more formidably arrayed against the Saints than at this very present
time. There never was a greater hatred against pure, undefiled, practical
religion; and it seem as though every person was our enemy. But if your
eyes were opened, as were those of Elijah's servant, you would see more
that are for us than all that are against us.
When people falter in their path, and stumble, and fall, if they had
eyes to see--if they would cling to the Lord, and sustain His cause here
upon the earth, in preference to turning their backs upon it, they would
see that there are infinitely more for His cause than there are against
it.
Men and women must have eyes to see, or they cannot understand these
things: they must be revealed by the Spirit of God; for that is the only
way in which people can understand the things of God. This makes it our
imperative duty to study and know the will of God, and then do it with all
our might. It brings us under the deepest obligations, for our own safety
and security, to live so that we can have the mind of Christ within us,
and understand the mind of the Lord day by day. If we do this, we are a
happy people. As brother Heber observed, we are the happiest people upon
the face of the whole earth.
You cannot go into any other community on the earth, and find that
peace and union and those principles of honour, of justice, and of right
between man and man, that you find in this community. You cannot find the
same amount of good works, faith, virtue, kindness, gentleness, and peace
that you find here: there is hardly enough of these good qualities among
the world to enable me to establish a comparison. The whole world is in a
turmoil, in a terror, and every man's hand seems to be against his
neighbour, nation against nation, party against party, people against
people. The world is in confusion, but this people are dwelling in peace.
As I told you last Sabbath, I have an experience with regard to the
feelings of over one hundred brethren during our late travels. Perfect
peace and union reigned. If there was a cross word, I did not hear it; if
there was a cross look, I did not see it; if there was a cross feeling, I
did not perceive it. Can any other community produce such a set of men
and women? Is any other people blessed like this people? No. We have
the privilege now of living in peace, of securing to ourselves our
temporal salvation; we enjoy this right. And we will find those words of
brother Kimball to be true with regard to the suffering of the children of
men around us; and if we do not hearken to the counsel given us, we will
see the day in which we will wish that we had. We will lament, if we do
not go to and secure to ourselves means for our temporal existence.
It is true that the Saviour says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and
His righteousness;" but now we have the kingdom of heaven with us. We
have sought it, and we have it in our possession. We enjoy the blessings
of that kingdom; consequently, if we neglect everything else, we would be
foolish, we would become extinct. But inasmuch as we have the kingdom of
God within us, inasmuch as we have it here among us, inasmuch as we have
the keys of it, the glory of it, the comfort of it, the power of it, and
the laws of it, let us now go to and sustain our bodies, that we may live
long on the earth to do good. And let us sustain our families--our wives
and children--inasmuch as we have the necessary means and blessings
preparatory to having all things added unto us.
Be wise: be as wise as the generations of this world. In the days of
Jesus, those who received the kingdom and the spirit of the kingdom seemed
to lose all sight of a temporal salvation; and Jesus said to his
disciples, "The children of this world are wiser in their generations than
the children of light." The children of light did not know how to sustain
themselves; they did not understand how to preserve themselves and the
kingdom with them.
There is danger on the other hand with this people. We have
witnessed it; we have an abundant proof of it, that when the people
actually turn to the world and seek after the things of this world, in
order to secure to themselves the comforts of life, their affections
appear to be weaned from the kingdom of God, and they become attached to
the things of the world. It would be better if you and I never should
have anything pertaining to this world, than to lose the spirit of the
Gospel and love the world.
But have we not learned enough? Do we not now understand enough to
know that strict economy is required at our hands, in order to sustain
ourselves and prepare for our friends, and also for our foes, and to be
able to deal out the staff of life, not only to our friends, but also to
our foes, and prove to them, what we have preached all the day long, that
we are the friends of mankind? We are actually their friends, not only
spiritually, but temporally. Let us go to, then, and lay up in our
store-houses, and prepare for the day of famine, of sorrow, and of
trouble; for all those things written in the prophecies, in ancient days
and in this our day, will surely come upon the inhabitants of the earth.
I bless you and your substance, with all that pertains to you; and if
I could, I would so bring the Spirit of God upon your that you might have
eyes to see, and be able to know the mind and will of God for yourselves.
We are in the happiest situation of any people in the world. We
inhabit the very land in which we can live in peace; and there is no other
place on this earth that the Saints can now live in without being
molested. Suppose, for instance, you should go to California. Brothers
Amasa Lyman and Charles C. Rich went and made a settlement in South
California, and many of the brethren were anxious that the whole Church
should go there.
If we had gone there, this would have been about the last year in
which any of the Saints could stay there. They would have been driven
from their homes. It is about the last year that brother Amasa can stay
there. Were he to tell you the true situation of that place, he would
tell you that hell reigns there, and that it is just as much as any
"Mormon" can do to live there, and that it is about time for him and every
true Saint to leave that land.
Suppose that we should go south. A great many wanted to go to the
Gila River: that was proposed when we first came to this Valley. It was
said to be a lively country, and that men could live there almost without
labour. What if we had gone there? You see what has followed us here;
but what would have been the result, if we had gone there? Long before
this time we would have been outnumbered by our enemies: there would have
been more against us than for us in our community. Suppose we had gone to
Texas, where Lyman Wight went? He tried to make all the Saints believe
that Joseph wanted to take the whole Church there. Long before this, we
would have been killed, or compelled to leave that country. We could not
have lived there; and it is as much as ever they can do to let us alone
here.
As I have often said, I am thankful to a fulness that the Lord has
brought us to these barren valleys, to these sterile mountains, to this
desolate waste, where only Saints can or would live, to a region that is
not desired by another class of people on the earth. When they come and
have succeeded in getting our money, they will not stay any longer. When
they have made all they can out of the Latter-day Saints, they wish to
leave. And when you see a person who becomes tired of "Mormonism," and
falters in his path, backslides in his feelings, at once his eye is to the
States, to California, or to some other place besides this. Though,
previous to their departure, such persons will write to their friends, and
to newspapers abroad, every conceivable misrepresentation; and even the
majority of the officers that have been sent here are trying to make the
Government believe that we are taking the country; that we are actually
usurping power to ourselves with regard to the soil; that we are
transgressing the laws of the United States; that we are treasoners in our
feelings, alienated from our Government, and so on and so forth. They
also declare that the "Mormons" are getting out what little timber there
is in the kanyons, and that if the timber is used up this land is not
worth one penny an acre.
In playing the game that they do, they give us nine out of ten. A
gentleman by the name of Morrill wished to deliver a speech in the House
of Representatives, on the "Mormon" question; but his friends managed to
prevent it; for they saw the light surface on which he rode while he was
writing his speech. They saw that the delivery of his speech would do the
"Mormons" more good than harm, and they managed to head off its delivery
by a motion to adjourn, which prevailed. He felt chagrined at losing the
opportunity to make his speech, which he thought was full of thunder, and
which occupies six-and-a-half columns in a large newspaper, and much of it
in nonpareil type. They did not want to hear it. Every man of sense
said, "Mr. Morrill, this will destroy your influence with your
constituents, and do the 'Mormons' more good than hurt, and ruin our
cause." No doubt his friend wished to seal it from him and let it have a
still-birth; but Mr. Morrill feels himself imposed upon, runs straightway
to the Globe Office, and gets it stuck into the paper, much to our credit
and advantage. That is the way all our enemies do; they overshoot the
mark they are aiming at.
Another man has written and got published a long article; and I have
really thought that I would like to have the speech, which was never
delivered, the long article, and some other articles of like character
read before the public congregation. William Smith, brother to the
Prophet, is the one suspected of having dictated the writing of the long
article mentioned. He defies the United States to send a Governor here
that can do anything with the "Mormons," except himself. He declares that
no man can go to Utah but a man who is well acquainted with the "Mormons,"
and one who has as much influence among them as Brigham Young; and
presents himself as the man. He also tells about the Danites, and asserts
that they are in every town and city throughout the whole of the United
States, and that their object is not known by the people; that they are
all over the world; that there are thousands of them; and that the life of
every officer that comes here is in the hands of the Danites; that even
the President of the United States is not safe; for, at one wink from
Brigham, the Danites will be upon him and kill him. After all this, he
says that no man can go there; and when he gets through with this story,
sufficiently so to expose who he is, he says, in purport, "I can go there;
and if you do not believe me, try me; and if you think I cannot, give me
the right to go there with a good large army.
Judge Drummond comes out with death and thunder on the "Mormons," and
that no other an ought to govern the "Mormons" but Judge Drummond, the
HORSE DEALER; and so it goes. And they publish that we have thousands and
tens of thousands of men scattered over the world, full of fervour,
integrity, and courage, and ready at a moment's warning. Just one word
from Brigham, and they are ready to slay all before them; and then they
turn round and proclaim that the "Mormons" ought to be used up, and that
you can do this and that with them. It is all a pack of nonsense, the
whole of it.
"The devil is mad, and I am glad;
And what can we do to please him?"
I know what I think, but I will not tell it now. It would please me
better to have him kicked out of doors than anything else, and especially
from this community.
If we would not say one word about people's living their religion,
and let this Temple alone, and the spirit of improvement in regard to our
religion, and everything pertaining to the world, and bid the world
welcome to our houses and firesides, and strike hands with them, and call
them our friends, we should have no difficulty with them. They have
nothing against us, only they cannot do as they please when they come
here, but have to observe the laws of the United States and this
territory, and a certain degree of moral decorum. They cannot do as they
please in their corruptions, and they raise a hue and cry against the
"Mormons."
If we would not say to the brethren and sisters, Try and live your
religion according to the Spirit of the Gospel, grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of the truth, and in all the graces and gifts of God's Spirit,
all would be peace between us and the wicked. If we were to say nothing
about building a Temple to the name of Israel's God, the Devil would not
be mad, and the case would be like that of a priest. In his vision in the
night, he came along to a pretty good-sized town, walled in fine and nice;
and he thought that he came to one corner where there stood a post, and
that the Devil sat asleep and nodding on the top of it. But he opened his
eyes--and noticed the priest, and asked him, "Which way are you going?--to
the city?" "Yes," replied the priest, "but what are you doing here?" "O
I am just overlooking the city." "How many devils does it take, besides
you, to take care of this people?" "There is no other here besides
myself; the whole people are under my control, and I have trained them so
well that I have nothing to do; and they are so well learned in the
doctrine of the devils, that they can almost get along without me. I am
merely here to see whether they continue to do as they have been doing. I
was thinking that I should have to go to another city; but, as you have
come, I shall have more work." If we live so that the devil has need to
look after us carefully, all is right.
The world would like to have us their friends, and to have us to do
service to their father the Devil. We profess to be Saints of the Most
High, and the people prove it by their actions. They are full of
integrity and good works, and yet there are a few that ought to mend their
ways; though I am happy to see that there are not many in this community,
and that that number is growing less. And it is my constant prayer, all
the day long, that God would multiply the righteous and righteous
principles throughout the world, while he decreases the ungodly; and also
that we may so live as to enjoy all the brethren have spoken of this
morning, root out the devils, and bid all foul spirits to depart from our
houses and community, that we may enjoy the peace of the Gospel in its
fulness.
I pray both for my friends and for my enemies, that, if they will not
repent, the earth may be speedily emptied of the ungodly. I have often
told you how I love my enemies. I would do something for their salvation,
if the Lord would permit me. And if the time was come, I would take a
step to give them, not a superlative heaven, but a comparative place of
peace. If it was in my power, I should perhaps be for doing this before
the time.
Pray that our enemies may have no power over us; pray for the Spirit
of the Gospel, that the Lord may strengthen the Elders, and keep them in
the spirit of humility, while they are out preaching the Gospel; pray for
the anointed of the Lord, for the house of Israel, those poor degraded
Lamanites, that light and truth may spring up among them more and more.
They begin to improve greatly; pray that it may continue, that they they
[sic] may come to acknowledge of the truth, and help to build up Zion, and
they will be a shield to us in the day of trouble. All this, and a great
deal more, I feel to say; but, for the present, I will give way. May God
bless us all. Amen.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES GUARANTEES ALL WE ASK--HOLLOW
GENTILITY--POWER OF THE "MORMON" LEADERS--GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION.
Remarks, by President Brigham Young, Made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, p.m. of June 7, 1857.
I can bear witness to the truth of what brother Hyde has said with
regard to the principle of government; and I wish to add my testimony in
these words. There is no people on this earth, in a national capacity,
but what have been operated upon to return to what they themselves, in
their own government, have prepared the way to accomplish. That is the
overruling hand of God in the midst of the people, when they know it not.
Pertaining to the officers that brother Hyde has alluded to, there is
no statute law in the United States, in neither the constitution nor the
statutes at large, but what allows the Latter-day Saints every prerogative
they could ask for. There is no right or privilege that we could ask to
enjoy--none that any other people could reasonably ask to enjoy, but what
is guaranteed unto us by the constitution and laws of the United States.
Officials who feel to traduce the name and character of the Latter-day
Saints, whether they be judges, marshals, Indian agents, or holding any
other office under the United States' Government in this Territory, have
to violate and trample under their feet their oaths to be loyal to the
Government and laws by which they profess to be governed, in order to
intrude in the least on the rights of this or any other peaceful,
law-abiding community. To the honour of a few of those officials that
have come here, we can say that they have honoured the law under which
they came, while others have trampled it under their feet. And for
officers to infringe upon any of our rights, they have got to transgress
the law that they are sworn to maintain. These are facts. If men will
only observe the laws of the United States--will only honour the laws they
are sworn to honour, we are safe.
It would please me much if the congregation that assembles here from
Sabbath to Sabbath could hear the details of the foul slanders of men that
have been here, that they might know what they will spew out. The great
majority of this people have no idea what rottenness those characters
carry within them; and they did not find it here: they brought it from the
places from whence they came. They come here as full of foul matter as
any shell or skin can be stuffed; and yet I have heard some of the Saints
say that such and such a one of the lot was a perfect gentleman. Speaking
as the world view men and things, in the eyes of the vast majority of
mankind, the Devil is the greatest gentleman that ever made his appearance
on this earth. In accordance with their estimate, you cannot begin to
produce a person who is so much of a gentleman as the Devil himself.
There are but few here that actually know the face of a Saint from
that of a devil; and that is one reason why we are exhorting the people
all the time to obtain the spirit of revelation, that they may know
whether they are right themselves or not, and whether their neighbours are
right or not; and that when truth is presented to them they can partake of
it and receive it with a keen appetite, as food which their spirits
rejoice in; and that when evil is presented they can detect it. But there
are so many who profess to be Saints that live beneath their privileges,
that it becomes a constant task on me and others to plead with the people
to repent, to forsake their heart wanderings, and return to the Lord their
God, and seek His face and favour, and never stop until they get the
spirit of revelation within them, that they may know for themselves who
are gentlemen and ladies, who are angels or devils; and know and
understand the truth from error, light from darkness, and be able to
detect every deception and every deceptive character. How long shall we
labour? We will labour on until we are worn out.
I am exceedingly thankful that the excessive labours that have been
upon me are not on me now as they have been. The spirit of reformation
has taken hold on the people; it has kindled the fire of the Almighty in
Mount Zion to burn out many of the ungodly that could not stand it, and
they have fled. I feel happy; it is a rest to me. I feel as though I
should endure yet for many years. But the labour that has been upon me in
observing the grovelling backwardness of many of the Latter-day Saints, to
see where they were going, was indeed hard to be endured. It is not long
since many of our Bishops and other leading men in this community could
not tell a Saint from a devil. Do you not suppose that that danger is
before me all the time? But within the last six months, comparatively a
hundred tons of care and anxiety have been removed from my shoulders; and
I hope that this fire will continue to burn among this people until those
poor, miserable curses--those poor, miserable gentlemen, shall all leave
us. I pray that the fire of God may burn them out. I pray for this
continually.
There are few men who, like myself, feel the burden of this; but take
the mass of the community, and it is, "How do you do, Mr. Devil?" And for
a pound of tea, or a pint of whiskey, it seems that many might be bought.
And when a "Mormon" undertakes to sell goods here, many of the people
think that he ought to give them away, or sell to them upon credit, which
they never try to cancel. And if the "Mormon" merchant deals upon a
business principle, the people will flock to the gentile stores, where
they will trust them. Why will they trust them? Because they know that
they will get their pay. I know of men bearing the character of
Latter-day Saints, who, because a "Mormon" dealer would not let his goods
go out of the store without pay, or a good prospect of pay, would go to
the gentile stores and get trusted, and then say, "O what a good man that
gentile is!" while, at the same time, he is as full of hell as an egg is
full of meat, and all he wants is a chance to spew it out. They will meet
you with bland expressions, with soft silky hands, and velvet lips, and
will blarney around you; but let a mob come, and they are ready to point
out their victims here and there, and be glad to see us destroyed.
Those whom the Government sends here are a most miserable set; and,
as a general thing, they do know enough to tell a decent lie. But this is
not altogether to be wondered at, for they are under the same difficulty
as we are sometimes: it is hard for them to tell a man who has got brains
in his head from one who is filled with pudding. The President and his
Cabinet know nothing about the characters whom they send here: if they
did, many who have come here never would have been sent. If we cannot
always discern the children of men, it is no wonder that they are blind,
and cannot send men here capable of making a decent lie. If they have not
already told every falsehood about us that they can invent, they will be
mighty sorry when they think of it; for, if they could have told any more,
they would have done so. They have made and told every lie that they knew
how to; and if there is any blame on them for not lying more, it must be
attributed to their ignorance.
I would like to come here next Sunday morning, at about eight
o'clock, and read to you those beautiful stories they have invented and
published, (Oh, they are lovely!) and let you understand how little sense
they contain. They have us eaten up by crickets, then by grasshoppers (I
suppose that the grasshoppers must have beaten the crickets); and when
they found that the grasshoppers and crickets had not eaten us up, then
the drouth came and destroyed us; and after all that, the cry from one end
of the nation to the other now is to destroy the "Mormons." They will
have quite a job, for there is more than one that can work at that game.
What do you suppose the Government thinks about those furiosos and
their lies? The Government feels about that matter somewhat as a friend
felt towards Morrill, who was going to deliver that GREAT--(but I cannot
hollow loud enough)--that GREAT speech, that he thought was so full of
thunder; but behold, when the shell cracked, it made no noise. I have no
doubt but what his friends were determined to have the speech hushed up;
they saw its shallowness, and were satisfied that it would not accomplish
one thing that he designed it should. Men who think, know that all such
persons are devoid of the principal item, viz., good sense to discern that
they do not rightly understand things themselves. They are like the chap
who thought he knew it all, and a doctor said to him, "Between you and me,
we know everything." The young man thought it was first rate, and
calculated to find out what the doctor knew. Says the doctor, "I cannot
think of but one thing that you do not know." "O doctor, will you reveal
that to me?" "If I thought it would do much good, or if you would profit
by it, I would reveal it to you. Perhaps I may as well tell you; for
there is one thing you do not know, though I believe that you know
everything else, and that is, that you are a fool; which I have learned
since I began to converse with you. And now, between you and me, we do
know the whole of it."
Government knows full well the miserable nonsense and the tirade of
abuse that is heaped upon us; but what do they care about it? If they had
the power of putting such characters on chips, as we do, and carrying them
out, perhaps they would never give them office; but they have not that
faculty as we have. We can look men out of our community, and they will
run and howl, thinking that their lives are in danger.
I presume that there are still hundreds and thousands of
communications daily sent to the President of the United States by
applicants for office, whom, if he could take up on chips, as we can, and
set them out at Washington, he would most gladly so dispose of. But what
is to be done? Why, give the poor, miserable dog a crumb, or an old bone,
and say, "Get out, now!" and that is the way they get here. To the praise
of a few who have been here, be it said, they kept the law; but almost
universally the Government officers that have come here have trampled the
laws under their feet, and have spurned them to derision.
If officers of the law will keep the law, it is all we ask of them
while they are here; but if they do not keep the law, we will make them
suffer the penalty. They are afraid of "Mormonism," like the Irishman who
was arraigned before a court of justice for a misdemeanor. He lamented
bitterly, and the judge told him not to mourn, for he would see that he
had justice done to him. "And sure that is what I am afraid of," replied
Paddy. So it is with them; they are all the time afraid of justice. When
they come here they are afraid that justice is going to overtake them,
instead of the "Mormons" doing them harm; and they do not like justice.
I will now say a few words in regard to the brethren's helping us on
the Public Works. I think that scores of men have come to me and said,
"Brother Brigham, don't you want a team to work on the Public Works? I
really want to let a team go on to the Public Works." We have not needed
them until now. We are going to sell our oxen to pay our debts, and we
will now let the brethren work with their teams, as they have desired. We
shall now prove them by their works. James said, "Show me your faith
without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." We will
apply that Scripture to you; if you will show your faith without your
works, we will show you our faith by our works, and see how many will
follow the example.
There are horse teams and mule teams in abundance, and the spring
work is pretty nigh done. Horse teams and mule teams will haul rock as
well as oxen, though it is generally supposed that they cannot. We will
sell our cattle to pay our debts; for, if some poor, miserable people tell
the truth, and we have to leave here, I do not want to go away in debt to
our enemies; for the Lord has told us not to go in debt to our enemies.
If I can get the brethren to do as we want them to do, in a short time we
will not owe a Gentile one half-dollar. We never would have been in debt
to our enemies, if I could have had my plans carried out. Some others
have had their way; and I, with a few others, have had to stand and lift
the load. If I could be permitted to have my way, I would always have the
dollar on hand to buy my enemy, instead of owing him a dollar and having
to be sold for it. I would always have a purse ready to buy those who are
for sale, instead of being out of means at the sale. I would make every
thousand dollars return two, whereas I cannot do that while letting others
have their way.
We want you to report yourselves forthwith, brethren. You can tell
your neighbours, and the word will go through the city and county. But we
do not want men to come here and say, "Here is a horse," or "I will turn
out an ox," or, "Brother Wells, I will send a team, if you will support it
and hire a man to drive it." We do not want any such proffered blessings,
but we want them proffered upon the principle that you hire your own board
or bring it with you, and bring your horse-feed and maintain yourselves,
just as you do at home about your own work, and come and do the labour
necessary to be done. We do not wish any man to say, "Here I am; I want
you to board me, and I want some horse feed, stable room, reins,
whipletrees and everything else." We want men to stay at home, unless
they come to do the clean work and provide for themselves and animals.
We have wagons rigged for transporting heavy blocks of stone, and we
are going to try hauling them with horses. If you do not believe that
horses and mules can haul heavy stones as well as oxen, come and see my
horses and mules do it; they will do it better than oxen.
Would you like to assemble here next Sunday morning and hear those
pretty stories read? They are delightful. If that is your wish, you will
all signify it by being here by eight o'clock next Sunday morning, when
you shall hear those beautiful stories, and learn how delightful you
appear in the eyes of the world, according to their representations. In
the absence of important news, I think the reading of those stories will
cheer you so much!
There is but one fact that makes our enemies mad at us, and it is a
principle visible and tangible to the natural senses, though I would not
say that it is the internal working of the natural senses to the natural
man. But one fact can be produced, that makes our enemies angry at us,
and that is this--we actually will sustain our leaders; we will be of one
heart and mind, which is the same thing. I do have that power and
influence here that no other man on this earth has in the midst of his
community, with the exception, perhaps, of some whom we call heathen, and
the members of the Church of Rome. And I do not suppose that there can be
a bishop or priest in the whole Roman Catholic kingdom who has a people
around him that have that implicit confidence in him which this people
have in their leaders.
If the President of the United States could have the influence that I
have in the midst of this people--even over as many people in the United
States as there are Latter-day Saints that I preside over, he would in a
moment give $100,000, which is his salary for four years. They spend
their scores of thousands and hundreds of thousands to get the name of
having an influence--of being a man who can wield a certain amount of
power. This is also the feeling with Cabinet officers, Senators,
Representatives, and Governors of States; and even the clerks in the
different departments at Washington will, if they have the money, give a
large portion of their salary just to get a clerkship. Office-hunters
will throw a hundred dollars here, and fifty dollars there, to secure
their election or appointment. Candidates for Congress will deal out a
thousand dollars to a certain set of men to go to one district and
electioneer, and five hundred to another, and two hundred to another,
according to the influence of the people in the district. They buy their
positions with money, and know that they have not the influence that they
would like to have, and which they see that I have; and that mortifies
them. And I presume that not many Presidents of the United States have
been elected without its costing them a quarter or half of their salary.
What do you suppose that Fremont expended during the last
presidential campaign? Probably not less than two million dollars. His
California property was rated at eight million, and a company in England
proffered five million for one half of that property which the Government
had ceded to him. It is presumable that he expended twice ten hundred
thousand dollars, and perhaps five hundred thousand on the top of that;
but he did not succeed in being elected President. Had he succeeded, he
would have been the most influential man in the Government, simply because
he had become the President.
It has been the practice for years, in the United States, for each
party to have what they call a Corruption Fund, to which the members
contribute their fifty cents, five dollars, or fifty dollars. What for?
To carry on an election. There is not an election for a President of the
United States that probably costs less than one-half of the worth of the
State of New York or Pennsylvania. Hundreds of millions are expended in
the presidential election at each four years.
What do they do in Congress? Before the last presidential election,
there was not as much business done by that army of men as would rightly
occupy the time of any legislative body for a very few days. What were
they doing? Log rolling. They also get fine ladies to electioneer with
different influential gentlemen, and they exert their influence in the
various States where they reside. The female portion of the community
have elected the President for years and years. And the Corruption Fund
is made use of by the different parties, one man throwing out five hundred
dollars for one place, another a thousand, another two or three thousand.
But I will now stop speaking on that subject, for there is no end to those
matters.
Commotion and war are abroad among the nations, and they will
continue to be troubled; and sore vexations, and mourning, and weeping,
and desolation await the inhabitants of the earth.
While we enjoy the privilege of the holy gospel, does it not become
us, as men and women of God, to be sober, full of faith and good works,
and to administer salvation to one another, and to every person that will
receive the truth at our hands? It becomes us to be Saints indeed. We
know that the world is angry at us, and that we cannot help. We mean to
pursue our course, build up the kingdom of God on earth, and establish
Zion. We have also got to assist in rebuilding Jerusalem; for, as brother
Kimball has said, if it is built up, we have got to assist in doing it.
The house of Israel is scattered upon every island and among every
nation; they have to be gathered by the Gospel's being preached to them;
and we expect to have the Devil to fight. Joseph said, years ago, that he
had all hell on his back, and all the world. All the evil influences that
knew anything about him were combined to crush him; but, said he, "I will
rise above them all, and bear off the kingdom;" and so he did, until he
was slain. God suffered him to be slain for His testimony, that it might
become a law through being sealed by his blood, which was the case the
moment his blood was spilled, the same as with the law of Jesus Christ
when he spilled his blood. Then the testimony became in force. It must
be so; God suffered it.
It now remains with us to bear off this kingdom, build up Zion, and
establish the law thereof, until Christ shall reign King of nations as he
now reigns King of Saints, which is nearer at hand than you and I may
believe. May the Lord help us to be faithful in this, that we may rejoice
in the perfect law of liberty, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
COMPREHENSIVENESS OF THE TRUE RELIGION--SACRIFICE FOR THE
KINGDOM OF GOD--THE SAINTS SHOULD BE SUPERIOR TO THE WORLD
IN ALL THINGS--TRUST IN GOD, ETC.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, June 14, 1857.
I cannot express my feelings; I can imagine, but cannot give vent to
my imaginations, when I realize the situation of the Saints in the valleys
of these mountains. I expect, if I should give way to my feelings mingled
with the weekness [sic] pertaining to mankind, that you would call me more
foolish than a Methodist, or even more foolish than a right down shouting
Ranter.
I think that I know how to prize the blessings I enjoy; and I also
really think that there are a great many here who know how to prize
theirs. My soul is full of gratitude. We are far from our oppressors,
far from those who seek to destroy us solely on account of our faith, and
are secured in the midst of these sterile, inhospitable mountains and
valleys. They are so to every person, upon natural principles; but the
Saints live here.
When I go abroad, when I visit a neighbour, when I meet a man or a
woman in the street, when I assemble with the community in which I live, I
am in the midst of Saints, or at least of those who profess to be Saints;
and if they are not Saints, I think they are trying to become so with all
their might. I know how to prize these blessings; and, if I was a right
good old fashioned shouting Methodist, I should get up here and begin to
talk, and it would not be long before I should be shouting "Glory!"
"Hallelujah!" "Praise the Lord!" and you would hear the response, all over
the meeting, "Amen!" "Glory!" and in a short time we should get into a
real shout.
I am full all the time; and there are many here who know how to enjoy
the society of the Saints. I am not obliged to mingle my voice with the
wicked and the ungodly; I am not obliged to associate with them. Brother
Rich knows what it is to be with the wicked, for he has been living in the
nethermost corner of sin and iniquity for a long time; and he knows how to
appreciate the society of the Saints here--how to mingle with them with a
heart of gratitude.
I wish to say a few words to the Saints upon what we call our holy
religion. If you and I are in the line of our duty when we talk, when we
sing, when we preach, when we pray, when we rise up and when we lie down,
when we go out and when we come in, in all the varied scenes and duties of
this busy life, every iota that we perform is embraced in our holy
religion. The one is inseparably connected with the other through the the
[sic] whole march of life, from the day that persons know the truth until
they have completed their work on the earth preparatory to entering into a
higher state of bliss. The religion that we have embraced is designed to
correct people, to give them a true system, true laws, true ordinances,
true customs, and to correct them in every point in all the social duties
and enjoyments of life. It teaches us every principle that is necessary
to prepare people here on the earth to become a perfect Zion--the pure in
heart--a perfect heaven on earth.
When the law is revealed to us and the ordinances committed to our
charge, if we exercise ourselves therein according to the best knowledge
and wisdom that we have, and continue so to do, God will add to us, until
we shall know how to establish Zion in perfection, and have the kingdom of
God, in the fulness thereof, in our midst and within us, and enjoy the
society of holy beings. All the real business we have on hand is to
promote our religion.
When the brethren rise up here to exhort you, as brother Hyde has, to
attend to a little temporal business, that is a portion of our religion.
I told you, I think, last Sabbath, while speaking on that subject, to seek
now to sustain this community--to seek to sustain ourselves. As brother
Hyde has remarked, the first thing now to attend to is to prepare for a
day of want and sorrow.
I told you, you will recollect, that we have the kingdom of God with
us: we sought that first. There may be here and there, in this
congregation, a person who has not done this; but almost every man and
woman before me have sought the kingdom of God with all their hearts.
Some may have done so in Missouri, in Illinois, in other parts of the
United States, in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, France, England, and
in many other foreign lands. They have sought the kingdom of God with all
their hearts, and have found it, and enjoy the principles, and spirit, and
power of it. It is that which gives me the privilege of looking at you in
these distant valleys.
We have got the kingdom: we sought it with all our hearts; though
many of us have been robbed of our substance not less than five times.
Yes, we have been robbed many times of all we possessed on earth, because
we sought the kingdom of God and its principles. We have been driven from
our homes time and time again. We have many times suffered the loss of
all temporal possessions. I say we; though there are brethren and sisters
here who have not been in the Church over a year, and some two, others
three years; but you are numbered with the Saints, and the Saints have
suffered the loss of all things, time and time again. What for? For the
kingdom of heaven's sake and its righteousness.
It is our privilege to be as wise in our generation as the children
of this world; and not only so, but it is our duty to be as wise in our
generation as the children of this world. We have the true light and
knowledge, and we ought to know as much as the philosophical world, or as
any other people on the earth. We ought at least to know as much about
politics as do the political world, or as do any other people. I expect
that we do; and if we only apply our minds in the proper time and channel,
we know as much about the Christian world as do any other people, and we
ought to know as much about the whole world as do any other people. In
fact, we ought to know more upon all those matters than any other people;
for we are privileged with far superior advantages through faith and
obedience to the Gospel.
There is one principle which we will acknowledge to be infallible;
and I feel like illustrating it by a few circumstances pertaining to this
people. We are under obligation to trust in our God and this is the
groundwork of all we can do ourselves. You know that we cannot actually
make one hair white or black by exercising the power that we have. We
cannot, as it is written, add to our stature one cubit. That proves that
in and of ourselves alone we can do nothing. We have been trusting in
God, you know, all the time, in order to accomplish what we have. We have
trusted in the Lord, or we never would have received this gospel. We have
had confidence in him, and in His revealed will to the children of men.
If we should lose this confidence, our faith, and our hope, we are then
left without any strength; consequently we know better than to leave our
God. In performing everything we can for our temporal salvation, do you
not naturally understand that it is through a more or less implicit
confidence in our God?
It is not by our works alone, but we are co-workers with the God of
heaven--with our Father: we are helpers. We expect to be saved, and we
have the work to perform to save ourselves. That is necessary to give us
experience to know what to do with our salvation when we have obtained it.
We do not intend to forsake our God, nor to say that we have done this or
that; for we have not done it alone, and do not expect to. We must learn,
and I may say that very many have learned in a great degree, that it is by
implicit confidence in our God that we perform all that we do here
pertaining to His kingdom on the earth.
We have heard much said, during six months past, to this congregation
with regard to our acts--with regard to our conduct one towards the other.
There has been much said in regard to the spirit of reform. That spirit
manifested itself in the case of our immigration last season. We did
prove to God, angels, and good men and good women, also to wicked men and
women, and to the devils in hell, that we had confidence in our God and in
our religion.
Perhaps many of the congregation are ignorant with regard to the true
situation of this community, in a temporal point of view, at the time
assistance was sent to our late immigration and for the year past. You
may take men that are keen observers, close calculators, and they can
prove to themselves and to you this one fact, that last September--and I
do not know but in August--this community had eaten up the small amount of
produce that grew the previous year, so that there was not a bushel of
grain to start upon, or that had been kept over. When the harvest came,
and the grain and vegetables were all gathered, the declaration of close
observers was that you could not find enough provisions raised throughout
the Territory to sustain this community nine months. It was not in the
country; it did not grow here. It was not in the fields of wheat when the
grain was threshed; the potatoes and the buckwheat were not gathered; the
pease and the beans did not grow; and the amount necessary to sustain life
was not on hand to sustain this community nine months, if a close
calculation had been made.
I couple this with the faith and acts of the people in assisting the
immigration last fall. We said to the brethren, Get the wheat ground,
take the flour, and go and bring in the immigration. And I bear my
testimony in the name of the Lord God of Israel, that if this community
had not have done as they were requested pertaining to the immigration, we
this day would not have had a bushel of wheat in the market in this
Territory.
But this community took their teams, loaded up provisions and
clothing, and went to the immigrants on the Plains; and some of them went
almost naked and barefooted. I know of men who were in the City on
business when the call was made, and they started off to assist those who
were in the snow, and were gone two months without shoes to their feet or
comfortable clothing to keep them warm; for they had not brought those
articles from home with them, on account of expecting to return. They did
not go back to get a new pair of shoes and clothing sufficient to keep
them from freezing among the snows of these mountains, and then stay at
home; but they promptly obeyed the call, saying, If I can borrow flour, I
will take it to the brethren, and will pay it back when I come in.
Did the people prove that they had implicit confidence in their God?
They did. They left their families without wood, and their grain lying in
the field; their wheat not threshed, their potatoes not dug; no forage
gathered for their cattle, and no preparations for sowing the fall wheat;
and trusted in the Lord to provide for them, or to have an opportunity to
sow in the winter, or the next spring, or never. What was the result of
that highly praiseworthy conduct? Hundreds of lives were saved, and we
have plenty.
Some go against the people selling wheat to anybody but those who
build up the kingdom of God. Have I ever objected to it? I say, let the
Saints have it, if you have got it. But what did we see here a year ago
last winter? A merchant bought up a large amount of wheat at from a
dollar to a dollar-and-a-half a bushel, and flour at from four to five
dollars a hundred. What was the result? He could not take it to the
States nor to California; and I bought it at a much less price than he
paid for it in cash and goods, and paid him in cattle. I am now buying
wheat for seventy-five cents a bushel that the merchants here have bought
in at from $1.25 to $1.75 a bushel.
If this community had not hearkened to the wants of their brethren
and sisters who came in last fall, this would not have been; but we would
now have been in want. Who believes this? I reasonably know it; and it
would almost be impossible for me to view the matter in any different
light. I was careful to look, for the welfare and salvation of this
people.
I have always looked for their salvation, both spiritually and
temporally. I looked well to it last year, and the year before that.
A year ago this spring was about as hard a time as has been in this
Territory. There was not flour nor wheat for sale. I had not much, and I
was feeding a great many. I told you then what I intended to do; I can
tell you now what I did. When the pinching time came on, my knowledge
with regard to the dealings of God with His people taught me to labour in
accordance with my faith and His promises, and I said, "I will part with
that which I have to sustain life, until the last four ounces are gone;
for, if I undertake to keep enough to sustain my family and workmen, and
deprive the destitute, I shall come to want with the community, and we
shall not sustain ourselves. If I will not turn away any that are in
need, I can induce the next brother to do the same, and this community
will not suffer for the staff of life." Still, I suppose that some did
suffer; and what was the reason? If all persons had felt in their hearts
to hand out just as long as they had anything to deal out, and not have
been pinched up in their feelings, and bound up in their hearts and in
their affections in the love of the things of this world, and one man on
this side, and another on the other side had not have said in his heart,
"True, I can spare five hundred pounds of flour; but now is my time to get
fifty dollars a hundred for it, and now is my time to make the spoil,"
there need not one have suffered. There was just enough such men in the
community to affect the faith of the Saints, and to cause a few to suffer.
If there had been as many to act as they should, as there were to act
as they should not, our bins would have been as full of flour as they are
this year. All that saved us this year was renewing our covenants,
keeping the commandments of God, and walking humbly before Him. That is
what causes the wheat to be here, whether you believe it or not.
It is the liberal heart, the liberal feelings of men and women--of
those who are full of faith in God that they will not suffer, because He
will provide for His people in the last days. He has done so; but He will
not provide for you and me, except we live our religion. If we will live
our religion, walk in the light of the Lord's countenance, day by day, so
as to have fellowship with our Father and His Son Jesus Christ, by the
power of the Holy Ghost, and with every good being in heaven and on earth,
let me tell you that hell may spew and bellow, and the devils may howl,
and they cannot scathe you and me any more than can a few crickets. But,
to enjoy the protection of the Almighty, we have got to live our
religion--to live so that we have the mind of Christ within us.
We have obtained the kingdom of heaven and the keys of it long ago,
and now we have got to live so that they will not be taken from us, but
that we will continue to increase in all the graces of His Spirit. Then,
instead of backsliding, we shall become rich in heavenly things, and grow
up into Christ our living head, until the things of this world are as
plentiful with us in our days as they are with the children of the world.
We ought to have a little more wisdom; and I mean to have it, and
mean that this people shall have it. They shall have more knowledge and
understanding pertaining to heaven and heavenly beings, and to earth and
everything pertaining to it, than any other people. I am determined that
I will so lead this people, according to the best of my ability and skill,
that they shall obtain it, with the help of God and the prayers of faith.
If the people had been as liberal last year as they have been this, there
would have been no crying for bread. This year our hearts are soft--they
are a little more elastic, and our blessings are more. Another
circumstance I will mention is this:--
We were owing a debt of $12,000 to one of the merchants in this city,
and have been disappointed in the East with regard to drafts and money
matters. As I have frequently told you, and tell you now, when the
business of this Church that belongs here to be conducted is conducted in
other lands, we have as yet no men but what get in a muss and entangle our
feet. They undertake to do that which should be done here, and God is not
with them to dictate their doings as they should be dictated, and they
fail in their calculations. Such transactions had somewhat straitened our
financial condition. We were not ready to discharge this one debt. We
had expected to pay the debt in cash, but had the opportunity of paying it
with the cattle, when upon examination we had but a few scattering here
and there--a few cows, and a few two year olds and yearlings. Last spring
we raked the herd ground, and gathered up all the cattle that would answer
any purpose for working, for sale, or for beef.
Said I, "Every cow that I own shall go to pay this debt; and if the
brethren will come and buy my mules and horses, they shall go also." The
next man said the same--"We will turn out our whole stock, and pay this
debt, and trust in God for the result."
We stopped the teams which were hauling stone, expecting that we
should have to go to drawing stone with our horses and mules. By that
method we had one hundred head of cattle to turn into good feed, to rest a
few days, and be fit for travelling. We had sent north and south to the
Bishops of the various wards, and also hunted the ranges for our own
cattle; and, said I, "I know that God has provided for me, and I am not
afraid to trust Him;" and so said the next, and the next. We wanted to
turn out four hundred head of cattle, in order to accomplish what was
desired.
Yesterday we turned out the last of the cattle that we needed to pay
that debt. We went to the herd ground, where brother Stringham had said
there were none, and we got about one hundred and seventy head there. And
the brethren began to bring in and bring in, and the cattle that we had
drawn stone with are all still in the good feed, and the debt is paid, and
we have now almost two hundred head of cattle on hand more than we had
when we commenced. We are now better supplied with cattle for teams and
beef, and with milch cows, and everything of the kind, than when we
commenced; and we have not touched one of those animals that we needed to
work on the Public Works.
But if I had puckered up to begin with, and if brother Kimball, and
brother Wells, and Bishops Hunter, Hardy, and Little, and the rest of the
brethren had done the same, and then sent out to see whether the brethren
abroad would turn out stock to meet the liability, we never would have got
those cattle into our hands. We would not even have seen them in the
Territory; our eyes would have been so darkened that we could not so much
as have seen them. I will venture that we can find more cattle now than
we could six weeks ago, notwithstanding we have just turned out so many.
These are stubborn facts; there is no dodging them. They cannot be
philosophised away with me, for I know they are truths.
If this people will continue in well doing, I warrant them that they
will multiply. You know the figure that brother Kimball presents once in
a while; but I am not for stripping the old cow to death. And I say to
the brethren, If any of you have turned out a cow or cattle to your
injury, come, and we will return them again. If you do not wish for them
back, feel as I do and let them go. I have given them, and I will not go
and take them back again. A good many have turned out cattle on
donations. When we wrote to the Bishops on the subject, we prepared the
way so that we might receive them; for I felt then, by the Spirit, that a
good many men and women would say, "Would you take anything as donations,
for our tithing, &c., is paid? I have a cow or an ox, or a little money,
that I can spare as well as not, and I will turn it out, if you will take
it as a donation." The brethren were not instructed upon that point, so I
informed them by letter that, if they were disposed to donate, they might;
but we would take cattle on tithing or on the P. E. Fund debts; for there
is a great amount owing us. If these debts were paid, we should have an
abundance; for there is nearly $200,000 dollars due to the Perpetual
Emigrating Fund alone. We cannot now collect these debts, for the
brethren are poor; hence we have to operate without those means.
If any have suffered by their donations, I will say to them, We have
more cattle than we had in the commencement, and we are better able to
give than we were before we paid those debts. Do you not see the hand of
the Lord in this? I know it, and I want every man to live so that he may
see the hand of the Lord in all things, like the sun shining before him,
that he may see the dealings of the Lord among the people, as plain as to
see the path home to-day. If we live so, all is right; we are safe; we
know how to save ourselves spiritually and temporally. What do you think
of such a people? Are they not blessed of the Lord? They are a
God-blessed people; and I do bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, even so. Amen.
EXCHANGE OF FEELING AND SENTIMENT PRODUCES MUTUAL CONFIDENCE--NECESSITY
OF CULTIVATING A CHILD-LIKE SPIRIT--DEVOTEDNESS OF THE SAINTS IN UTAH
TOWARDS THE WORK OF GOD--GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF HIS OWN WORK, ETC.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, June 28, 1857.
I arise to express some of my feelings in relation to the brethren
who may address the Saints from this stand from time to time. I wish you
to understand that when you are called upon to speak to us here, we wish
you to speak upon the same principle that brother Chislett has. Out of
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Brother Chislett has
spoken upon that principle. We do not expect the brethren to rise up here
to instruct the people with regard to the special duties devolving upon
them, or to give the revelations of Jesus Christ to lead the people.
Let me ask this congregation, what does strengthen your minds, your
faith, and your confidence in your religion? Is it not the Spirit of the
Lord? It is. Is not that what you require day by day? Do you not
receive as much of the spirit of intelligence, of the spirit of knowledge,
and the consoling influences of the Holy Ghost, to have people rise and
testify of the things of God which they do know, of those things which
they have experienced themselves? Does not that vividly bring to your
minds the goodness of the Lord in revealing to you the truths of the
Gospel? Does not that strengthen your faith, give you an increase of
confidence, and witness to you that you are a child of God? Most
assuredly it does. Therefore, when any testify of the things of God, it
strengthens their brethren precisely as it did in days of old when they
observed the counsel to "speak often one to another," "strengthen the
brethren," and so on.
A mutual interchange of feelings one with the other, increases
confidence in our own hearts, as well as in the hearts of our friends. We
are made sensible by our own experience that in changing and interchanging
our views, we reveal our hearts, feelings, sentiments, and confidence that
we have in each other; consequently, it is a natural result that we
increase confidence in each other by our mutual conversation. This is
proved to us day by day. Perhaps all have no the opportunity to prove
this in so public a manner; but some few have.
In my experience I have learned that the greatest difficulty that
exists in the little bickerings and strifes of man with man, woman with
woman, children with children, paredts [sic] with children, brothers with
sisters, and sisters with brothers arises from the want of rightly
understanding each other. It is not that this man or that woman wishes to
do wrong; but if they do wrong with their connections or with their
neighbours, it is in consequence of a misunderstanding. Let us learn then
to give each other our true sentiments.
It is a great fault in the Elders of Israel, when they talk to a
congregation, that they speak a great while about something, but you
cannot always easily tell what. It may be more or less natural for some
to do this, but it is a habit which can be overcome. Persons can learn to
express their feelings by their words. Do not hesitate to tell your
feelings.
Many have a foreboding in their hearts; a fearfulness, a tremor comes
over them, when they arise to address a congregation. They think that is
will not do to tell the people just what they understand, but talk about
it and talk about it. In this way they darken counsel. Do not darken
counsel by your words.
I do not now refer in the least to what has been said this morning;
for I really believe that the feelings of brother Chislett were portrayed
frankly, honestly, and child-like. That is the way I like to have the
Elders talk; and I wish to have them testify to what they know. That will
help and encourage others to get the same Spirit; for, in the midst of all
that we hear from this stand with regard to counsel and implicit obedience
to counsel, you and I must have the testimony of Jesus within us, or it is
of but little use for us to pretend to be servants of God. We must have
that living witness within us. We need the light of the Holy Spirit
continually, day by day, as you have been told hundreds of times. How
easy it would be for your leaders to lead you to destruction, unless you
actually know the mind and will of the Spirit yourselves. That is your
privilege. And when you testify in this public congregation, or in your
prayer meetings, testifying of the things of God that you know and
understand, you are at liberty to speak freely upon those things which you
believe. Instead of getting up to instruct, to lead, guide, and direct
the kingdom of God, we want the brethren to tell what they know, what they
understand, the joy that they feel, and their experience day by day.
We do not expect the brethren to rise here to instruct pertaining to
the leading of the Church. But do they instruct, when taking the course I
have suggested? Yes; they instruct me; they cheer and comfort my heart;
they increase confidence in me towards them. When they rise to speak
here, they cannot hide their feelings, the sentiments of their hearts.
And when they exhibit an honest, child-like spirit, it increases my
confidence in them, and so it does the confidence of the people, and we
are all encouraged and strengthened; we are edified and benefitted, and we
increase in our religion.
Allusions were made to our situation and the situation of the world.
No tongue can fully portray that subject to you. It is impossible for any
man to rise here and exhibit the true state of this people--of the
blessings of the favour of God towards them. That is not to be known or
realized, except by the revelations of the Spirit of the Lord.
This is the kingdom of God; and no man can understand it, except by
the Spirit of God. We are enjoying the blessings of our Father in heaven.
No person can understand these blessings; except by the Spirit of
revelation. When that Spirit has gone from the hearts of individuals,
these valleys cease to be the valleys of peace to them, cease to be the
valleys of comfort and joy to them, and they seek for other climes. They
first wander from the Saints and from their religion in their feelings,
and finally they wander in person.
This people are blessed, and are a blessed people. When I meditate
upon our present circumstances, and view the situation of the people, I
can feel nothing in my heart only to say, "God bless them." They are a
God-blessed people. They do manifest to God, angels, and men, that they
are willing to sacrifice, if we may use the expression, all that they
have, or expect to have in this world, in its present situation, that they
may be the children of light, and walk in the favour of God, and secure
their inheritance in the celestial kingdom of our God. All else is in the
shade to them. They prove by their works that they are a blessed people,
and you will be blessed. You need have no fear but the fear to offend
God. If you have any tremblings in your hearts, or timid feelings with
regard to our present situation, let me tell you one thing, which is as
true as that the sun now shines, that whatever transpires with us, with
our enemies, with the world here or there, will still more promote the
kingdom of God on the earth, and bring to a final end the kingdoms of this
world.
But the people of the Most High God must be tried. It is written
that they will be tried in all things, even as Abraham was tried. If we
are called to go upon mount Moriah to sacrifice a few of our Isaacs, it is
no matter; we may just as well do that as anything else. I think there is
a prospect for the Saints to have all the trials they wish for, or can
desire. Do not be discouraged when you hear of wars, and rumours of wars,
and tumults, and contentions, and fighting, and bloodshed; for behold they
are at the thresholds of our doors. Now, do not let your hearts faint;
for all this will promote the kingdom of God, and it will increase upon
the earth. Why? Because the world will decrease. We will be
strengthened, while they will be weakened. Righteous principles will be
multiplied and spread abroad, while wickedness will diminish and become
limited in its power. The Saints of the Most High will increase. God's
kingdom will increase upon the earth. And all we have to do, in order to
increase, is to be sure that we are the children of God, inheritors of the
blessings, promises, and faith of Abraham of old: then, whatever
transpires, it is no matter.
The world are determined to destroy the kingdom of God upon the
earth: they wish to obliterate it. The kingdoms of darkness are
determined to destroy this kingdom. In their feelings they are fighting
you and me, and do not know that they are contending against Jehovah.
They have not the least idea of that, but think they are contending
against the "Mormons." They are not contending against you and me--they
are contending against the God of heaven. Do you think he can manage his
own affairs? "Yes, if he only will," you say. Do you think He can lead
this people to victory and glory? "O yes," every heart responds, "if He
has a mind to." Do you think we are safe in trusting in God? "Yes, if
the Lord will actually preserve us."
How are you going to be assured of all this, and a great many more
things? There is but one way--live so that you have the abiding witness
within you that, if all the rest go to the devil, I am a servant of God,
and will go into His presence. Let every man and woman take that course,
and then the Lord will take care of the whole of them.
There is a great deal said by our enemies with regard to destroying
us. I will tell you how I feel about that. I have heretofore used a
comparison, and it is a very plain one. When I see a number of little
boys by the Tithing Office, where we shell the corn, building a cob-house
in order to pluck the sun from the heavens and bring it down to the earth,
I believe that they will accomplish their design just as readily as I
believe that the devil and all his imps will accomplish the destruction of
this people.
There are very many here who have been brought into tight
places--into what we used to call running the gauntlet; and I want to know
whether there is a faithful heart in this congregation--one who has been
in this church for twenty five years, but what the Spirit of the Lord has
witnessed to him in every difficulty that He enlarged His kingdom more and
more, and weakened our enemies. Has not that been the testimony of every
heart? [Many voices, "Yes."] It has been so.
When the brethren were driven from Jackson county, Joseph gathered up
205 men, and went to Missouri to see whether he could not bring about a
reconciliation, that the Saints might live then in peace. At that time
hosts of Missourians were gathered in different places. True, there were
a few in the camp who apostatised, because they could not have the
privilege of fighting. So far as I was concerned, I did not wish to
fight. Perhaps you will think that I was very enthusiastic, should I tell
you the feelings that I had at that time; but they were true, and have
remained so with me to this day. Inasmuch as we were called to go there
by the prophet of the Lord, though I knew and had a witness of this fact,
we were in the midst of our enemies, and surrounded by them on every side;
yet my faith then was, and it has continued with me, that they might array
their sharpshooters with their best rifles and cannon, and shoot at me,
and every other man that felt as I did and do, and they would see me a
little to one side, and could never make a ball take effect on me. That
is the way I feel now. Unless the Lord wishes to deliver this people into
the hands of their enemies, they may shoot at me or any other man--they
may fight, and howl, and bark, until they wear out their lungs and exhaust
all their means, and will sink down and rot in their own corruption, and
we will live and spread abroad. That is my faith.
Brethren and sisters, my heart is all the time, God bless you, God
bless you. You are blessed. No tongue can tell the blessings that his
people enjoy, if they have the spirit to understand their blessings.
Where is there peace, besides in the valleys of these mountains? Where is
the place that people can serve God, but in the valleys of these
mountains? Brother Chislett just told you, "No where." Where is the
continent, the people, nation, or kingdom, in which and among whom the
Book of Mormon could have been translated, angels have visited the
servants of God to restore the priesthood and establish the kingdom of
God, and that have risen, grown, and spread abroad, but in the government
of the United States? Nowhere else, as you were told here a few Sundays
ago. How is it now, with the present feelings of the people? Could that
work now be done in the United States? It could not. The very duties
performed by Joseph, Oliver, David, Hyrum, and others, could not now be
done in the United States; for the people would rise en masse and put them
to death, or drive them from their borders.
The kingdom rises, increases, and spreads out to the right and
left--it goes to the east, to the west, to the north, and to the south;
and when the Gentiles are faithfully warned by the words of life freely
given to them, and they utterly reject them, you will then find that the
blood of Abraham that is scattered upon the islands of the sea and on this
continent, will come like doves to the windows, and like clouds before a
mighty torrent of wind. They will come and acknowledge the truth, though
not at once, and they will greatly increase in the knowledge of their
fathers. We can say to the praise of God's name, and to the praise of the
industry of the Saints, that this will commence, and hundreds and
thousands of them begin to turn from their wickedness, forsake their folly
and their loathsome degradation, wash themselves, and begin to live more
as men and women should, and to learn at the hands of the servants of God.
They will go into the waters of baptism, confessing their sins, and taking
upon them the new and everlasting covenant, by thousands; and it will
increase; and many generations will not pass away before they become a
white and delightsome people.
The nation that gave me and many of you birth is very nigh to the
hours of sorrow. Their cup is very nigh filled to the brim. They reject
the servants of God; they reject the Gospel of salvation; they turn away
from the principles of truth and righteousness; and they are sinking in
their own sins and corruptions. I would that they would have mercy on
themselves. I will pray the Lord to have mercy on them, but I pray them
to have mercy on themselves to return to the Lord, forsake their
wickedness and learn righteousness, and then God would have mercy on them,
and bestow His blessing upon them, if they would receive them. But they
harden their hearts, shut their ears, stop them up tight, close their
eyes, and are determined to hear nothing that is true concerning this
people, or the doctrines we preach. But every lie they can hear, imagine,
or hatch up, they publish to the world, and it is drank down; they roll it
under their tongue as a sweet morsel. They reject the truth and receive
lies, until their cup is nearly full to the brim.
The Lord's time is not for me to know but He is kind, long-suffering,
and patient, and His wrath endureth silently, and will until mercy is
completely exhausted, and then judgment will take the reins. I do not
know how, neither do I at present wish to know. It is enough for us to
know how to serve our God and live our religion, and thus we will increase
in the favour of God.
You often hear people desiring more of the knowledge of God, more of
the wisdom of God, more of the power of God. They want more revelation,
to know more about the kingdom of heaven, in heaven and on the earth, and
they wish to learn and increase.
There is one principle that I wish the people would understand and
lay to heart. Just as fast as you will prove before your God that you are
worthy to receive the mysteries, if you please to call them so, of the
kingdom of heaven--that you are full of confidence in God--that you will
never betray a thing that God tells you--that you will never reveal to
your neighbour that which ought not to be revealed, as quick as you
prepare to be entrusted with the things of God, there is an eternity of
them to bestow upon you. Instead of pleading with the Lord to bestow more
upon you, plead with yourselves to have confidence in yourselves, to have
integrity in yourselves, and know when to speak and what to speak, what to
reveal, and how to carry yourselves and walk before the Lord. And just as
fast as you prove to Him that you will preserve everything secret that
ought to be--that you will deal out to your neighbours all which you
ought, and no more, and learn how to dispense your knowledge to your
families, friends, neighbours, and brethren, the Lord will bestow upon
you, and give to you, and bestow upon you, until finally he will say to
you, "You shall never fall; your salvation is sealed unto you; you are
sealed up unto eternal life and salvation, through your integrity."
Let every person be the friend of God, that whatever He reveals to
you, you can wisely handle without asking Him whether you shall tell your
wife of it or not. You can recollect the backhanded blow I gave to some
of the brethren last winter. They were in pain, because they knew
something which they could not tell to their wives. I would not trust
such men out of sight of my dinner. God will not trust the least thing to
such persons. Sisters, if you are in pain, because you cannot tell your
husbands everything, you had better take a little catnip tea, and get over
it, if you can. What will God reveal to such persons? Just enough to
keep them from the gulf of despair, and lead them along until they get a
little sense. I say this that you may learn to reveal that which you
ought, and to keep the rest to yourselves. By so doing you prove to God
that you are His friends, and will keep His secrets.
The world may howl around you and plead for the secrets of the Lord
which he has given you, but they will not get them. When the Lord has
proved His children true to what He has given into their charge, and that
they will do His bidding, He will tell such persons anything that they
should know. A great many desire just enough of knowledge to damn them
and it does damn a great many.
Giving endowments to a great many proves their overthrow, through
revealing things to them which they cannot keep. They are not worthy to
receive them. Brother Heber takes the lead in giving endowments, and you
may ask, "Why do you give such folks their endowments?" To qualify them
to be devils, if they wish to be. The plan of salvation is calculated to
make devils as well as Saints; for by and by we shall need some to serve
as devils; and it takes almost as much knowledge to make a complete devil
as it does to fit a man to go into the celestial kingdom of God, and
become an heir to His kingdom. We want to complete the education of a
number of such fellows; they are running to the States, to California, and
elsewhere, and are trying to reveal this, that, and the other; but I defy
any one of them to give any idea of what is taught them in their
endowments, except a garbled mass of trash. God takes that knowledge from
their minds. We have to make devils, and we are preparing them.
Everybody must have the same chance of accepting or rejecting the
blessings of the Gospel, you know.
Suppose that we should meet a man at the judgment, and he should say,
"Here is my friend Brigham: I was in great Salt Lake Valley, or in Nauvoo,
and I did everything that he told me; but he would not let me go in and
obtain my endowment; and it offended me so that I actually did forsake the
faith, when I verily believe that if I had have had the privilege, I would
now have been numbered with the Saints; but, instead of that, I am found
on the left hand." Shall I give them occasion to make such an accusation?
No. I wish to give every one as good a chance for salvation as I have
myself: then out of their own mouths they will be judged. If the Lord did
not take this plan, we would not.
I wish to tell you a truth; it is God's truth; it is eternal truth:
neither you nor I would ever be prepared to be crowned in the celestial
kingdom of our Father and our God, without devils in this world. Do you
know that the Saints never could be prepared to receive the glory that is
in reserve for them, without devils to help them to get it? Men and women
never could be prepared to be judged and condemned out of their own
mouths, and to be set upon the left hand, or to have it said to them, "Go
away into everlasting darkness," without the power both of God and the
devil. We are obliged to know and understand them, one as well as the
other, in order to prepare us for the day that is coming, and for our
exaltation. Some of you may think that this is a curious principle, but
it is true. Refer to the Book of Mormon, and you will find that Nephi and
others taught that we actually need evil, in order to make this a state of
probation. We must know the evil in order to know the good. There must
needs be an opposition in all things. All facts are demonstrated by their
opposites. You will learn this in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and in
the revelations given through Joseph. We must know and understand the
opposition that is in all things, in order to discern, choose, and receive
that which we do know will exalt us to the presence of God. You cannot
know the one without knowing the other. This is a true principle.
Brethren and sisters, my heart rejoices exceedingly. I cannot talk
all my feelings, I cannot tell you what I feel and what I see in the
Spirit; for, as I lately told you, if I should undertake to manifest my
feelings before the people, I might display a style and manner which many
would deem that of a perfect ranting Methodist, and halloo, and shout
Glory! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! and this, that, and the other. The
tongue of man cannot express the feelings I have in seeing this people
returning unto the Lord, in seeing them faithful to their covenants, in
seeing that there is no contention among them, in seeing the willingness
and obedience of their feelings. They are willing at the call to go and
do whatever is required of them. I contemplate these things; they are
before me.
I will cite one instance of the freedom from contention. Brothers
Lamb and Jolly came to me the other day with a difficulty that existed
between them. Brother Lamb has seen the day in this Church when there
would have to have been a High Council over such a case as he and brother
Jolly came to me about; but in five minutes it was settled, and both
parties felt perfectly satisfied. How did it used to be? They would
argue and argue, and aggravate feelings in themselves and in others. Now
brethren will come and settle a difficulty in two or three minutes, and
say, "It is right; all is right; all I want is to know what right is, and
I am ready to do it. I have no will of my own: give me the good Spirit,
and I feel right; I bow down to it, and feel the power and blessing of my
God."
When I see the people willing and obedient, my heart is all the time
full to overflowing. I almost sit up nights to say, God bless you. And I
say further, let every man on the face of this earth that curses this
people be cursed. [Many voices, "Amen."] And every man that blesses them
shall be blessed. [Many voices, "Amen."] And those who oppose this
religion, and feel to destroy it from the earth, shall go down to hell.
[Many voices, "Amen."] And their time is very short: they will find it
plenty short enough.
Suppose that the wicked kill us, who cares? They never will kill
any, but what it will swell the kingdom a little faster. And if my blood
is required to enlarge this kingdom, and build it up, and increase the
speed of it on the earth, I do not ask but one thing, and that is, that
the grace of God may be sufficient for me at the moment and every moment.
I do not care what I do, if God only be with me, and I be led in the path
of honour and glory; for we all want to secure to ourselves eternal
salvation.
I did not expect to speak more than a few minutes. I will return to
the subject and say, brethren, do not get up here with a feeling to give a
very interesting discourse--to lead out upon the mysteries of the kingdom
of God, thinking thereby to tell something that will edify the people; for
that will not edify them. What will? Come down to the simple, child-like
spirit of the Gospel, and give us the testimony of Jesus, and all will be
edified, and we will grow together. May God bless you. Amen.
TRUE HAPPINESS--FRUITS OF NOT FOLLOWING COUNSEL--POPULAR PREJUDICE
AGAINST THE MORMONS--THE COMING ARMY--PUNISHMENT OF EVILDOERS.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, July 5, 1857.
It rejoices my heart to hear the brethren testify of their faith and
good feelings, and of their confidence in God and in their religion. It
is a matter of rejoicing to me to see those who profess to love and serve
the Lord live up to their professions.
Brother Park very correctly observed that if this people will
actually do the will of those who are placed to lead them, they will be
owned, honoured, and blest of their God who dwells in the heavens. I can
say, for one, that I cannot be pleased, I cannot be satisfied, I cannot
feel to fellowship this people as I wish to do, unless they live their
religion and serve their God every day, every hour, and every minute of
their lives. There is no time allotted to us to use outside of the limits
of duty. But in doing our duty, in serving our God, in living our
religion, in using every possible means to send forth the Gospel of
salvation to the inhabitants of the earth, to gather Israel, and establish
Zion, and build up the kingdom of heaven upon the earth are incorporated
all blessings, all comforts that men can desire.
It is a mistaken idea in the inhabitants of the earth to conclude
that it will not do for them to yield obedience to the commandments of
heaven, lest it should abridge them in their comforts and in their
enjoyments; for there is no real peace, there is no real happiness in
anything in heaven or on the earth, except to those who serve the Lord.
In His service there is joy, there is happiness; but they are not to be
found anywhere else. In it there are peace and comfort; but when the soul
is filled with joy, with peace, and with glory, and is perfectly satisfied
therewith a person even then has but little idea of that which is in store
for all the faithful.
Thrust a man into prison and bind him with chains, and then let him
be filled with the comfort and with the glory of eternity, and that prison
is a palace to him. Again, let a man be seated upon a throne with power
and dominion in this world, ruling his millions and millions, and without
that peace which flows from the Lord of Hosts--without that contentment
and joy that comes from heaven, his palace is a prison; his life is a
burden to him; he lives in fear, in dread, and in sorrow. But when a
person is filled with the peace and power of God, all is right with him.
I cannot be satisfied with myself, neither can I be satisfied with
this people, unless they live in the enjoyment of the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus christ, having the testimony of Jesus within them. When they live
in that manner, they are prepared to judge of all matters that come before
them; they are then capable of discerning between truth and error, light
and darkness. They can then readily discover the things that are not of
God, and distinguish them from those that are. This is the only way for
you to know that your leaders are leading you in the path that leads to
heaven. Without taking this course, a people or nation is liable to be
led astray by their leaders, and thereby be prepared to be destroyed; but
when the people understand for themselves--when they know and understand
the things of God by the Spirit of revelation, they are not only satisfied
but safe. If this people will do as they are told--will please those who
preside over them, they will do well for themselves. And if they will do
this from morning to evening and from evening to morning, all will be
right, and their acts will tend to promote the kingdom of God upon the
earth.
As brother Wells lately observed here, it is very little difference
what comes or goes. If the world are angry at us, that only fits and
prepares them for their destruction. If they afflict the Saints of God,
it prepares them for their reward; it prepares the righteous for bliss and
immortality, and the wicked are the sooner ripened for their doom. It is
very little difference whether men come here as soldiers or as civilians,
all will promote the interest of the kingdom of God. It will promote the
interests of the Saints, inasmuch as they are united; and though the
wicked, in their eagerness to destroy the Saints of God, do not see this,
yet God will make it all turn for the good of His people.
True, this people might have done better; but, considering all
circumstances, they have done as well as could be expected. It might be
shown to them, and perhaps this congregation will acknowledge it, that if
this people had invariably been careful to observe counsel, they would
have promoted the kingdom of heaven a great deal faster than they have. I
will bring up a circumstance to illustrate this idea--one relating to us
in these Valleys of the Mountains. It was just now observed by brother
Feramorz Little that his feelings would be perfectly satisfied if he
should never see another train of goods come in here for sale among this
people. I would have been satisfied, if that could have been the case
from the beginning.
At a time here when a person could go with a sackful of gold and say
to a man, "Can I hire you to do some work for me? I have a sack full of
gold;" and the man would say, "No; I cannot do it;" and every man would
say, "No; I am too busy; I cannot do it;" and the person still saying, "I
have hats full of gold;" but it was so plentiful, that men had such
quantities of money that they were lugging it about until their backs
ached;--suppose that that money had been put into the hands of the Trustee
in Trust, and used for the benefit of the kingdom of God, would it not
have been much better than to pay it to the merchants to carry out of the
Territory? One merchant, in a day-and-a-half, received for sales a large
kettle-full of money, and in two days he took a great deal more. Suppose
that that money had been put into the hands of the Trustee in Trust and
those associated with him, they would have laid goods down at your doors
for from thirty to forty per cent cheaper than you got them. But could
the people see that? No; their eyes were dim, and they could not see
their own interest.
If the people had concentrated their means during the nine years
past, they would now have been worth millions where they have only
thousands. I know that now as well as I should have known it if the
experiment had been tried, and that result proven. But no; the people
would pay their money to others to carry out of the country.
I will tell an anecdote relating to the feelings of some in those
days. I stepped into a store at the time when money was so plentiful, and
the store was crowded. Every man, woman and child, had their pockets full
of gold. A woman stepped up and said, "Mr. So and So, have you any
soap?" He replied, "I do not think there is any." She then asked, "Have
you any sugar, or coffee?" He answered, "I do not know whether there is
or not: there was some this morning; but I think it has been sold." It
was not long before a woman reached over and touched the one enquiring,
and said, "President Young has bought everything of that kind that has
been brought in." I reached over and tapped her on the shoulder and said,
"What do you tell that infernal lie for? President Young has not bought a
pound of tea, a pound of sugar, or a pound of coffee, since these goods
came in." The people were then in such a state of mind that they would
rather have given all they had to the Gentiles than for me to have had a
pound of tea or the handling of their money.
They were not all possessed of that feeling; but there were enough to
influence the channel of trade and give it an unwise direction; and if
there are not now too many of that class, I shall feel thankful, and we
shall be able to hold the wheat and the cattle so that those who are
passing through and temporarily sojourning in our midst will have to pay a
fair price for those articles. But I presume, if the Gentiles come, some
of you will run and sell your wheat and your cattle to them for a much
less price than we would give you, and be perfectly satisfied with it. If
there is not an influence and practice of that kind, I shall be glad of
it; for it will prove to me that the people believe what they say.
I am careful about touching anything that is the object of people's
worship--the gold, the goods, and the things of this world, which please
the eyes and entice the affections of the people. You who know me know
that I have not been under the necessity of asking you to help me much.
Instead of the Presidency's living upon the people, it is well known that
they have sustained the people. Suppose that I had not launched forth in
business, and that brother Kimball and others had not, what would have
been the result? This community would have been living in their log huts,
whereas they now have good houses and comfortable homes.
I am decidedly in favour of practical religion--of every-day useful
life. And if I to-day attend to what devolves upon me to do, and then do
that which presents itself to-morrow, and so on, when eternity comes I
will be prepared to enter on the things of eternity. But I would not be
prepared for that sphere of action, unless I could manage the things that
are now within my reach. You must all learn to do this.
If the people take a wise course and let a few have the handling of
the wheat and other commodities that are for sale, and let those who wish
to buy come to them to purchase, it would be much better for this people.
By pursuing that course, our enemies would either be under the necessity
of giving us a fair price, or have to purchase their supplies in the
States, and haul them across the plains, through the hills, and over the
mountains. How do you think they would prosper in that operation? I
think they would soon become discouraged and want to leave these regions.
It is an ignorant excitement which causes some people in the States
to feel and act as they do. Who is there, of all who are really
acquainted with our proceedings and will let good reason and good sense
operate, that has one word to say against us? No one. But the priests
have hallooed so much about these Latter-day Saints--the "Mormons" as they
term us, that they have become excited; and what is the reason of their
outcry? It is simply this--we have the words of eternal life, and they
have not; we serve the God of heaven and they serve somebody, they know
not whom. We have the true religion that the Bible gives an account of,
and they seem to be entirely ignorant of it and of the God of heaven.
Only let us leave God out of our religion, and all would be right.
A great many have said to you and me, "Just leave out Joe Smith, the
Book of Mormon, and modern revelations, and you will become popular."
Brother Clements said, last Sunday, that he told a priest that he could
materially abridge that leaving out by saying, "Just leave God out of the
question, and you will be 'Hail fellows well met.'" We are not going to
leave out Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, nor the gathering, nor the
building up of Zion.
You hear brethren talk of coming to Zion to enjoy the blessings of
this land; but do you not see that it is the short-sightedness of men
which causes their disappointment when they arrive here? They read in the
Bible, in the Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants, about
Zion, and what it is to be; but brother Park and others could not realize,
before they came here, that they were the ones to help to build up Zion.
They gather here with the spirit of Zion resting upon them, and expecting
to find Zion in its glory, whereas their own doctrine should teach them
that they are coming here to make Zion.
We can make Zion, or we can make Babylon, just as we please. We can
make just what we please of this place. The people can make Zion: they
can make a heaven within themselves. When people gather here, they should
come with a determination to make Zion within themselves, with the
resolution that "I will carry myself full of the Spirit of Zion wherever I
go; and this is the way in which I will control evil spirits; for I mean
that my spirit shall have control over evil:" and do you not see that such
a course will make Zion?
This American continent will be Zion; for it is so spoken of by the
prophets. Jerusalem will be rebuilt and will be the place of gathering,
and the tribe of Judah will gather there; but this continent of America is
the land of Zion.
The priests are angry because they are afraid that their religion is
nothing but a sandy foundationed fabric; and whenever they meditate upon
the subject and humble themselves, and the Spirit of the Lord finds its
way to their hearts and convicts them, the truth then is made manifest
before them, and they begin to learn the falsity of their systems; and
when that spirit leaves them, they become angry. "Mormonism" is declared
to be true by hosts of witnesses, and this makes the priests angry; for
this Gospel bears its own weight and testimony, and they know not how to
gainsay it. True, I have aimed to point out their errors; but it is not
your or me that they are opposed to, although they throw their darts at
us; but it is the spirit of conviction that goes with the report of this
work; for wherever it goes it strikes conviction to the heart, and that is
what disturbs the priests and the people.
The foolish, and those who are controlled by the hissings of the
priests, rage against the work of God, and corrupt politicians urge them
on. There is not an honest man in the United States or in the world but
what, if he could hear this doctrine taught without knowing that it was a
"Mormon" who was teaching it, would drink down these principles. They
would swallow every word and say, "That is true; you have more light than
I have." But if you say "Mormon," that sends the fat into the fire, and
arrays their prejudices against you. Do you know this, you Elders?
[Voices, "Yes."]
As I have said before, I have often gone incog., and taught persons
the Gospel, and they would drink down its principles as eagerly as a
thirsty ox would drink water; but an ignorant prejudice causes all the
trouble. The excitement among the priests, and directed by politicians,
raises this erroneous prejudice and hue-and-cry.
You know that I have said that, if it was now my calling to go and
preach the Gospel, I could make as many converts as I ever did; for I
would go in such a manner that the bitterly prejudiced would have to
labour hard to find out that I was a "Mormon," until I had induced them to
love the truth. Then they would say, "If that is 'Mormonism,' I want it."
Persons who are as ignorant as jackasses pass through this city, and
they are so prejudiced that they cannot see and hear well enough to report
things straight. But let persons of good understanding come here, and
hear the Elders testify, and stop to investigate, and every honest heart
among them will receive the Gospel. Do you not know that they would?
The "Mormons" are trying to take care of themselves. Our enemies may
come to kill us, but we know that there is a God in the heavens. I care
no more about the threats that are made than I do about the floating of a
board on the waters. They have kicked us and cuffed us about so much that
I have got used to it. I have been driven, and had to leave my home five
times on account of my faith in the Gospel of our Saviour; but I have
never until now been a conspicuous character; and I say to my enemies and
to the enemies of righteousness, you have now got to fire long shots,
unless you come much nearer to us than you are.
I will say to all parties, If [sic] you come here and do not observe
wholesome laws, we will introduce you to them. In regard to troops coming
here, as has been rumoured, should 1,500 or 2,000 come, what will you see?
You will see that they will ask us to make their soldiers behave
themselves, until they can get out of this place, which they will do as
soon as possible. They are not coming here to fight us; though, if they
were to, I should pray that the Lord would bring those here that mobbed us
in days gone by, and just let us look at them. But no; the priests, and
some editors and politicians wish to have innocent soldiers sent here to
fight us. Let them bring those priests, editors, and politicians who have
howled so long about us, and we will attend to their cases. But I pray
that I may never witness such scenes as I have in the midst of this
people. If they will let us alone, we will preach the Gospel; and if they
do not, we will do it, and we will build up Zion, if all the devils in
hell howl. Let us know that we have to build up Zion until the Spirit of
peace shall overrule our country.
Do you ever reflect upon the matter? Look at St. Louis. More
murders have been committed there in almost any few days than have been
committed in this Territory since it was organized. It is customary there
to have murders committed almost daily; but we, above all other people,
ought never to have such a crime committed in our midst; and we never have
had, so far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned.
I will now tell you something. It is a secret; and I wish you to
keep it to yourselves. There have been men here who have had their plans
arranged for robbing; and I will take the liberty to say that, when we
find them, "judgment will be laid to the line and righteousness to the
plummet." Those are my feelings, and I express them plainly, that the
good and honest may be able to pass from the Eastern States to California,
and back and forth, in peace. And when a "Mormon" unlawfully disturbs
anybody, I say, let him be overtaken by a "Vigilance Committee." And when
mobocrats come here, they will find a "Vigilance Committee." Now,
listeners, send that to the States, if you wish. I want the people in the
States to know that there are a few poor curses here, and also to know
that we do not want a gang of highwaymen here. And I say to all such
characters, if you come here and practice your iniquity, we will send you
home quick, whenever we can catch and convict you. I wish such characters
would let the boys have a chance to lay their hands on them.
If men come here and do not behave themselves, they will not only
find the Danites, whom they talk so much about, biting the horses' heels,
but the scoundrels will find something biting their heels. In my plain
remarks, I merely call things by their right names. Brother Kimball is
noted in the States for calling things by their right names, and you will
excuse me if I do the same.
We will build up Zion and establish the kingdom of God upon the
earth, and the wicked cannot help themselves. I have not built up this
kingdom, neither did Joseph Smith. What the Lord told brother Joseph to
do, that he did. And what the Lord tells you and me to do we will do, by
the help of God. May God bless us all. Amen.
TRUE LIBERTY--ORGANIZATION AND DISORGANIZATION--FALLEN
SPIRITS--SATANIC OPPOSITION--FUTILE EFFORTS OF THE ENEMY.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, July 19, 1857.
I am heartily delighted with what has been said here this morning, so
far as I have heard--for I did not come in time to hear all the remarks.
It is my greatest joy to see this people engaged in their religion,
faithful to their calling, true to their trust, and fervent in spirit.
And when I see the brethren and sisters striving to add faith to faith,
and good works to good works, and feeling to renew their obligations, and
covenants, and labours day by day, it is satisfying to me,--it is joy and
peace.
This is a marvellous work and a wonder. Do not the people think it
is? What a stir this people make in the world! The sound thereof has
gone forth almost, if not entirely, to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Our Elders have been round the world and round the world again. They have
been to the most noted nations, and to a great many isolated tribes and
islands. I do not know but what the sound of "Mormonism" has gone forth
into all the earth, and it makes a great stir wherever it goes.
Brother Truman O. Angel said that it appeared as though this people
and the work we are engaged in are of the greatest importance. I can say
that this work is of the greatest importance to you, and me, and the
people of the earth; for no person can get salvation without it. And the
remark of brother Carrington, that the unbridled passions of people forge
their fetters, is true. There is no freedom any where outside the Gospel
of salvation. The Inhabitants of the earth imagine that they are enjoying
great freedom. It is not so. If they would stop and reflect, they would
find that they only place each other in bondage. This is the case with
all the nations of the earth. Do you see that equality among them that
you see here? Where is there a people or nation that does not oppress
each other? When our Elders go forth and preach the Gospel, if it was in
their power to cast from the people the yoke of bondage, instead of our
gathering into the Church, from the British Isles, for instance, two or
three thousand or ten thousand a year, we would gain our million a year.
That is a free nation: in the common acceptation of the term they
are a free people: they are very liberal. But how many can embrace the
work there with impunity? But a few; for people have not moral courage
enough to break through their iron fetters. The people are bound down and
cannot embrace this work. Thousands and millions have heard this Gospel
preached who would have been glad to receive the blessings of it, if they
could have done so without endangering their own existence on the earth.
Life is sweet, and the majority of men will do anything to preserve it.
Jesus said that a man would give all that he had for his life; and in our
day there are a great many who will do almost anything to preserve their
natural lives. To accomplish this, they will bow down to the whims and
sayings of designing men, of the priests of the day, and to the laws and
customs of individuals. Were it not for this, you would find that there
would be millions embracing this work where there are now but hundreds;
for there is no freedom only in the Gospel of salvation.
There is not an individual upon the earth but what has within himself
ability to save or to destroy himself; and such is the case with nations.
Is there liberty or freedom in destruction? No. When you look at things
naturally, which is as far as the natural man sees, a person who takes a
course to destroy himself temporally would be considered very unwise. And
to the natural man we are taking an unwise, and unnatural course, wherein
our religion is obnoxious to the Christian world. Did not your friends
say to many of you, before you left your homes, that you were
foolish--that the world would despise you and hate you? Did they not ask
you if you could not see that troubles were coming upon the Saints, and
say that you were very unwise in going with them--that you had better stay
where there was safety? They can see nothing more than natural things;
they do not understand the ways of God; they are unacquainted with His
doings, with His kingdom, and with the principles of eternity.
So far as the natural man is concerned, it appears that the
Latter-day Saints are very unwise to embrace in their faith those
obnoxious principles that render them so odious in the eyes of the
political and Christian world--the popular world. The Latter-day Saints
see further; they understand more than what pertains to this world. The
Gospel of life and salvation reveals to each individual who receives it
that this world is only a place of temporary duration, existence, trials,
&c. Its present fashion and uses are but for a few days, while we were
created to exist eternally. The wicked can see no further than this world
is concerned. We understand that when we are unclothed in this present
state, then we are prepared to be clothed upon with immortality--that when
we put off these bodies we put on immortality. These bodies will return
to dust, but our hope and faith are that we will receive these bodies
again from the elements--that we will receive the very organization that
we have here, and that, if we are faithful to the principles of freedom,
we shall then be prepared to endure eternally.
Can the wicked be brought forth to endure? No; they will be
destroyed. Which, then, are the wise, and which are the foolish? We all
naturally know--we can naturally understand that man cannot stay here
always. The inhabitants of the earth are continually coming and going.
This is not our abiding place. All can see naturally, if they would but
observe the facts before them, that this world is but of short duration to
them. They appear here infants, pass through childhood and youth to
middle age, and if they live to a good old age, it is but a short time,
and then they must go. But where do they go to, and what will become of
them? Will this intelligence cease to be? There are but very few, if
any, who really believe this. And the thought of being annihilated--of
being blotted out of existence--is most horrid, even to that class called
infidels.
The intelligence that is in me to cease to exist is a horrid thought;
it is past enduring. This intelligence must exist; it must dwell
somewhere. If I take the right course and preserve it in its
organization, I will preserve to myself eternal life. This is the
greatest gift that ever was bestowed on mankind, to know how to preserve
their identity. Shall we forge our own fetters through our ignorance?
Shall we lay the foundation to build the bulwarks for our own destruction
through our wickedness? No; the Latter-day Saints know better. We will
lay the foundation to dwell eternally, and that, too, in the heavens, with
beings superior to those with whom we associate in our present situation
and circumstances.
We have the principle within us, and so has every being on this
earth, to increase and to continue to increase, to enlarge, and receive
and treasure up truth, until we become perfect. It is wisdom for us to be
the friends of God; and unless we are filled with integrity and preserve
ourselves in our integrity before our God, we actually lay the foundation
for our destruction. The world think that we are going to be temporally
destroyed. That is nonsense. All things are temporal, and all things are
spiritual with the Lord; there is no difference with Him, neither is there
with any person who has eyes to see things as they exist. To those who
have their minds open to eternal things, spiritual and temporal things are
all one.
This is only our place of temporary existence. We cannot live here
always with our bodies full of pain and subject to decay. Deprive us of
food and we die; deprive us of water, and after a short time we die;
deprive us of air, and we live but a few moments. We all know that this
is not the state for us to live in and endure to eternity. Our eyes are
looking beyond this sphere of action, and I trust that we are laying the
foundation to endure eternally. If we do, we must be the friends of
God--the friends of the principles of life and salvation; and we must
adhere to those principles and shape our lives according to them, or else
we lay the foundation for our own destruction.
Talk about liberty anywhere else! What liberty is there in anything
that will be dissolved and return to its native element? What liberty can
any intelligence enjoy that is calculated to be destroyed? There is no
liberty, no freedom there.
The principles of life and salvation are the only principles of
freedom; for every principle that is opposed to God--that is opposed to
the principles of eternal life, whether it is in heaven, on the earth, or
in hell, the time will be when it will cease to exist, cease to preserve,
manifest, and exhibit its identity; for it will be returned to its native
element. I say, let us live our religion, serve our God, trust in Him;
and when we are called to contend against the enemy within ourselves,
contend against him manfully, just as we would against an open
enemy,--contend against those passions that rise in the heart, and
overcome every one of them.
You will hear some of the brethren say, as brother Carrington as just
said, that there are times when the blood courses like lightning, upon
seeing men who are opposed to us--who are striving with all their powers
to destroy this people. Can they destroy us? No, they cannot. There are
a great many in this congregation who are witnesses that the Devil has
been warring, with all his imps arrayed against this work, ever since the
organization of this Church, and trying to obliterate it from the earth.
Have they gained any ground? No; they have lost ground all the time. This
people, with brother Joseph at their head, and with all the powers of
Satan, earth, and hell for him to contend against, have built up the
kingdom of God and spread the principles of the Gospel to the uttermost
parts of the earth.
In regard to the battle in heaven, that brother Truman O. Angel
referred to, how much of a battle it was I have forgotten. I cannot
relate the principal circumstances, it is so long since it happened: but I
do not think it lasted very long; for when Lucifer, the Son of the
Morning, claimed the privilege of having the control of this earth and
redeeming it, a contention rose; but I do not think it took long to cast
down one-third of the hosts of heaven, as it is written in the Bible. But
let me tell you that it was one-third part of the spirits who were
prepared to take tabernacles upon this earth, and who rebelled against the
other two thirds of the heavenly host; and they were cast down to this
world. It is written that they were cast down to the earth. They were
cast down to this globe--to this terra firma that you and I walk upon, and
whose atmosphere we breathe. One-third part of the spirits that were
prepared for this earth rebelled against Jesus Christ, and were cast down
to the earth, and they have been opposed to him from that day to this,
with Lucifer at their head. He is their great General--Lucifer, the Son
of the Morning. He was once a brilliant and influential character in
heaven, and we will know more about him hereafter.
Do you not think that those spirits knew when Joseph Smith got the
plates? Yes, just as well as you know that I am talking to you now. They
were there at the time, and millions and millions of them opposed Joseph
in getting the plates; and not only they opposed him, but also men in the
flesh. I never heard such oaths fall from the lips of any man as I heard
uttered by a man who was called a fortune-teller, and who knew where those
plates were hid. He went three times in one summer to get them,--the same
summer in which Joseph did get them. Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist
priests and deacons sent for him to tell where those plates were, and to
get them out of the hill where they were deposited; and he had not
returned to his home from the last trip he made for them more than a week
or ten days before Joseph got them. Joseph was what we call an ignorant
boy; but this fortune-teller, whose name I do not remember, was a man of
profound learning.
He had put himself in possession of all the learning in the
States,--had been to France, germany, Italy, and through the world,--had
been educated for a priest, and turned out to be a devil. I do not know
but that he would have been a devil if he had followed the profession of a
priest among what are termed the Christian denominations. He could preach
as well as the best of them, and I never heard a man swear as he did. He
could tell that those plates were there, and that they were a treasure
whose value to the people could not be told; for that I myself heard him
say. Those spirits driven from heaven were with him and with others who
tried to prevent Joseph's getting the plates; but he did get and secrete
them, though he had to knock down two or three men, as he was going home,
who were waylaying him to kill him. From that day to this, a part of the
hosts of heaven made mention of in the Bible, with the cursed corrupt
priests and the cursed scoundrelly Gentiles with them, have been trying to
put down this work. But what have they gained? I should suppose that
they would have stopped their operations long ere this, after uniformly
meeting with such bad success.
When I commenced preaching, I told the people that if they would let
us alone, and not raise any persecution, we would go peaceably along among
the people and preach to them; but that just as sure as they fought us and
opposed this work we would actually revolutionize the world a great deal
quicker than if they let us alone. I have stuck to that faith ever since;
for every time that there has been an opposition raised against this work,
God has caused it to swell like seed in the ground; He has caused the seed
to sprout and bring forth the little mustard-trees, as brother Kimball has
said.
The Gospel is certainly bringing forth a multitude of Saints. Has it
not been so all the time? Yes, it has. A great deal could be said on
this subject, but I have not time to say it now; for there are some other
matters I wish to speak about.
We have issued almost 2,000 tickets inviting our brethren and sisters
to pass the 24th of July at the Lake in Big Cottonwood Kanyon; and no
doubt a great many more would also like to receive tickets. Hence, I want
to tell you my feelings on the subject. If I call upon my friends to join
me in a short excursion, to form a social party at my residence, or to
unite upon any festive or memorable occasion, I never know where to stop
in my feelings until every Latter-day Saint is invited. I wish those who
do not receive invitations to go into the kanyon to understand that it is
not because we have any feelings against your going there, nor is it
because we wish you to tarry at home, nor because we not desire your
society. But is it consistent for all the people to go? It is not. We
will therefore gather up some that ought to go--some who can conveniently
go, and leave the rest, with precisely the same good feelings towards
those who tarry at home as those who go into the kanyon.
Last season it was observed, "I would like to have gone into the
mountains to celebrate the 24th; but I did not want to go without an
invitation." I did not want you to, and I will tell you why. If we had
permitted such a course, a great many would have gone that were not wanted
there, as there are persons who would like to put fire into the kanyon and
destroy the timber, or create a disturbance, if they could get a chance.
We expect those who go to observe the instructions on the tickets they
receive, and to go, tarry, and return in harmony and peace. Let all who
go observe good order and try to make themselves happy. If I were to
satisfy my feelings, I would invite the whole of you. I will do so
by-and-by, and we will have a party right here in this Bowery on some
Sabbath-day, where we can all be together and enjoy each other's society.
There is another item that I will touch upon. Two weeks ago to-day,
I mentioned the course of some individuals in this place who are writing
slanders concerning us, stating that a man cannot live here unless he is a
"Mormon," when at the same time they come here to meeting with perfect
impunity. Some of them are in the meeting to-day, and are now preparing
lies for their letters. A parcel of them clan together and fix up
letters, and they write to the East how desperately wicked the "Mormons"
are--how they are killing each other, killing the gentiles, stealing and
robbing, and what wicked, miserable creatures the "Mormons" are. And when
any of them go from here, they report, "We have barely escaped with our
lives: Oh! it was a very narrow escape that we made; but we did manage to
get out of the place with our lives; yes, we did get away without being
killed." They all safely escape to tell their lies.
They say that it is with great difficulty that they can live with the
Saints, when at the same time no one has molested them during all the time
they have been writing lies to stir up the wicked to destroy us. They
pass and repass in our streets with the same privileges that other
citizens enjoy; and there are professedly of our faith those who
sympathise for them. May God Almighty let His curse rest on all such
sympathizers. [Many voices, "Amen."]
Will troops come here and inquire into my just rebukes of such
characters and conduct? "Oh!" says one, "I am afraid they will come; and
what shall I do?" They have been with us many a time. We have been
accustomed to seeing a hundred to our one, with their guns to shoot us,
and their knives to cut our throats. Do people imagine that they can kill
"Mormonism?" I may die for my religion, and who cares for that? Brother
Carrington has told you that God can carry on his own work, and the spirit
of Joseph which fell upon me is ready to fall upon somebody else when I am
removed.
There are a few apostates here, and I have understood the whining and
sympathy they manifested for our enemies. It makes me think of what I
heard from a High Priest's house, that he did not know a Saint's face from
the Devil's. It is just so with a great many. They would not know the
angel Gabriel, if he were to stand here to preach to them, from Lucifer,
the Son of the Morning. If Lucifer were to hand out a dollar--"You are a
gentleman; won't you call at my house?" "Here is another dollar." "Call
over at my house; I have some daughters: perhaps you would like to be
introduced to them. I have a fine family; call in, and get acquainted
with my family."
Do you know that there is no fellowship between Christ and Baal? Do
you think that a union has taken place between them? Can you fellowship
those who will serve the Devil? If you do, you are like them, and we wish
you to go with them; for we do not want you. We wish that all such men
and women would apostatize and come out boldly and say, "We are going to
hell upon our own road;" and I will say, "Go ahead, and may the Devil
speed you on your journey. Here is sixpence for you." But do not be
snooping round, pretending to be Saints, at the same time be receiving
such men into your houses and such spirits into your hearts, as many do.
Well, all that is necessary, and it will be so; but the time will come
when "judgment will be laid to the line, and righteousness to the
plummet;" and if it is not hailstones, it will be some other kind that
will sweep away those who make lies and love them.
Brother Truman said that we are here, are we not? We are in the tops
of the mountains, and all hell cannot remove us. What do you suppose
Joseph and Hyrum would have said, if they could have been here with only
one hundred such boys as they could have chosen? Their enemies might have
hunted them to this day, and they would have wasted them away as fast as
they could have come.
Brother Truman said that there are as many for us as against us.
Yes; there are ten to one for us more than those against us; but the
difficulty is that all have not eyes to see. The soldiers of the Lord are
in the mountains, in the kanyons, upon the plains, on the hills, along the
mighty streams, and by the rivulets. Thousands and thousands more are for
us than those who are against us, and you need not have any fears. They
may be permitted to kill our bodies, but that is yet to be determined.
They try to fire a pistol; the cap snaps, and they are in the lurch; for
some would have a dagger into them before they would know it. Or, if they
tried to shoot with a rifle, perhaps the person aimed at would be standing
a little one side of the range of the bullet.
Brother Carrington's testimony proves to you that men's eyes are
liable to be deceived. It may appear strange to some that he could not
tell me from Joseph Smith, when I was speaking in the stand in Nauvoo
during the October Conference of 1844. Somebody came along and passed a
finger over his eyes and he could not see any one but Joseph speaking,
until I got through addressing the congregation.
They may shoot, and they will see Brigham a little to one side, and
Heber in another place, and fire away--at what? At shadows. We shall
live as long as the Lord wants us to. They may lie and write lies, and
they may stay here, if they behave themselves; but if they do not stop
their devilish conduct they will be overtaken; for we will make their
words true in regard to their being in danger, if they persist in their
efforts to bring destruction upon us. We do not ask any odds of them, nor
of hell, nor of the world. We only ask favours of our God; and He is the
Being we serve: to Him we go; and we do not pray to a God without body,
parts, passions, or principles; for we do not serve such a personage. We
serve the living and true God, who has body, and parts, and passions, and
feelings for His children; and the wicked may help themselves the best
they can. Amen.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM--OPPOSITION OF MEN AND DEVILS TO THE
LATTER-DAY KINGDOM--GOVERNMENTAL BREACH OF THE UTAH MAIL CONTRACT.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, July 26, 1857.
I will read a portion of the writings of the prophet Daniel,
commencing at the 27th verse of the 2nd chapter of the book of Daniel.
[The speaker read the verses alluded to, from verse 27 to verse 49
inclusive.]
These verses are of themselves a text and texts, a sermon and
sermons.
We have a great deal of talking, preaching, exhorting, counselling,
giving advice, &c., from this stand and in many other places where the
Saints assemble; but perhaps it may be the case with many, as it is
somewhat with me, that they in a measure neglect to read the Bible, and
forget many things which are written therein. Perhaps there are many who
have not read much in the Bible since they came into this Church, not
having had much time to do so.
I was a Bible reader before I came into this Church; and, so far as
the letter of the book was concerned, I understood it. I professed to be
a believer in the Bible so far as I knew how; but as for understanding by
the Spirit of the Lord, I never did until I became a Latter-day Saint. I
had many a time read Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream,
but it was always a dark subject to me. I was well acquainted with many
of the priests of the day, and I would frequently think to myself that I
would get some knowledge from them. And as I became acquainted with
smart, intelligent, literary priests and professors of religion, I
thought, Now I can obtain some intelligence from this or from that man;
and I would begin to ask questions on certain texts of Scripture; but they
would always leave me as they found me, in the dark. They were there
themselves; and I knew of a surety, before I heard the Gospel, that the
priests were blind guides leading the blind, and that there was nothing
left for them only to stumble here and there, and perhaps fall into a
ditch. That much knowledge I had previous to my becoming acquainted with
what is called "Mormonism."
It would be very profitable to the inhabitants of the earth to learn
one fact, which a very few in the world have learned, that they are
ignorant--that they have not the wisdom, the knowledge, and the
intelligence outside the circle of what is called the wisdom of man. For
persons to know and understand their own talent, their own strength, their
own ability, their own influence, would be very profitable to the
inhabitants of the earth, though but very few learn it.
I do not know that I feel particularly thankful that I learned what I
did with regard to the lack of intelligence and knowledge professed by
Christians to be in their possession; but I have been thankful that my lot
and fortune were such that my God gave me good, sound sense. I am
thankful for that. When the Gospel came to me, surely within me and all
around me I could see very plainly what the Apostle meant in the words,
"When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died."
I could see clearly where the inhabitants of the earth were, in their
position before their God. The whole world--everything upon this
globe--was vailed in darkness. There was a mist, a fog, a vail, or
covering over the minds of the whole of the people on this earth; and what
they understood was nothing more than a faint glimmering of light that
would dazzle before their eyes for a minute, and they would see it no
more. They were like a ship befogged on the ocean and depending for
guidance upon a lighthouse whose glimmering rays could only be discerned a
long intervals, when the ship could again be put upon a safe course. But
the wind has shifted; and, without light or compass, they do not know
whether it is blowing east, west, north, or south; and then how could they
tell whether they were directing their course aright? The Christian
world, I discovered, was like the captain and crew of a vessel on the
ocean without a compass, and tossed to and fro whithersoever the wind
listed to blow them. When the light came to me, I saw that all the
so-called Christian world was grovelling in darkness.
We profess to have the light, intelligence, and knowledge with which
to understand the things of God. The dream of King Nebuchadnezzar and its
interpretation by David are as plain to the man and woman filled with the
power of the Holy Ghost, as are the most common lessons to the
school-children: they most clearly understand the interpretation. Daniel
saw that in the latter days the God of heaven was going to set up his
kingdom upon this his earth. He has set that kingdom up, as you who are
here this day are witnesses.
What brought you from the States and other regions to these
mountains? What caused the men and women before me to leave their good
farms, their good houses, their merchandize, and all the luxuries and
comforts of life so dear to the natural man? What caused many women to
leave their husbands, their children, their parents? What caused all
this? What is the reason of such conduct? Can any man tell? The world
are trying to; but they are even more ignorant about it than they are of
the present movements and designs of the President of the United States.
They know not the reason why the people are assembled here; for they
cannot and will not see and understand anything only as they discern it by
the powers of the natural man.
I have told them many times, and I can now tell them again, if the
whole world could hear my voice, they are to be pitied; and I pray for
them. We have traversed the earth to preach the Gospel to them. We have
often started upon our missions almost destitute, without hats, nearly
without shoes and any of the comforts of life, to travel thousands and
thousands of miles to preach the Gospel to the people. If they will not
be benefited, our skirts are clear of their blood, and they must bear the
blame.
Can they tell the cause of this people's being here to-day? Can they
give the cause for the influence I have over the Latter-day Saints? They
cannot. If this was not the kingdom of God upon the earth, do you suppose
that the world would be arrayed against it? No. There is not a sound,
well-informed mind in the world but what would decide at once that there
is no cause of enmity against this people, and that all hostility towards
us arises from the fact that we have the eternal Priesthood and the
influence thereof. The kingdom of heaven is here, and we are in it, and
they are angry at us solely for that.
There is not a king, governor, or ruler, but what desires, and is
endeavouring to obtain the influence that I and my brethren possess and
are lawfully striving to obtain. Do you suppose that there was ever a
President of the United States but what desired the confidence of his
constituents? No, never. Was there ever a senator, a representative, a
governor of a state, a politician, or a priest, but what desired the same
power in his sphere that I have in mine? They cannot get it, because they
do not know how. What is the reason? They have not got the kingdom of
God, which binds the people together. They are ignorant of it, though we
have travelled, barefooted and almost naked, to preach it to them; and I
say that they are to be pitied.
How many times I have gone to preach to them, and, with all the
kindness and calmness I was capable of, told them that I had something to
cheer and comfort them, if they would hear it with good honest hearts.
How often I have asked, "Can I have your meeting-house or your
school-house to preach in? Can I have the privilege of preaching to the
people?" "No, you cannot, if I can prevent it." That is the spirit of
the priests.
It is the priests and elders of Christendom who have the power of
hell in them which causes the trouble that you see, and that you have seen
and borne for many years. They are like that unruly member, the tongue,
which sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell.
The priests have this fire, and who fans the flame? Brother Smoot
has told you who blows the bellows. It is the politician, the drunkard,
and the filth and offscouring of the earth, who run at the beck and call
of those who have a dollar or sixpence for them,--of those who will treat
them and give them an oyster supper and a good lodging.
There is another class, the speculators, who endeavour to get up some
plan or other by which to make money. Brother Smoot has given you a few
items concerning their present movements in the east. Through their
whining, bickering, howling, grovelling, squalling, and scratching, and in
a political and speculative point of view, many are striving to most
egregiously befool our Government and squander its revenue. And the
priests are also at the bottom of this movement; for they have the power
that is of hell, and others blow the flame and furnish the fuel to
persecute the Latter-day Saints, because they are in the kingdom that the
God of heaven has set up in the last days, and that shall never be
destroyed.
It is a little more than twenty-seven years since I commenced reading
the Book of Mormon and defending the cause we are engaged in. My mind was
open to conviction, and I knew that the Christian world had not the
religion that Jesus and his Apostles taught. I knew that there was not a
Bible Christian on the earth within my knowledge. A few years previous to
that time Joseph had obtained the plates and began translating the Book of
Mormon; and from the time he found those plates in the hill Cumorah, there
has been just that tirade of abuse, lying, slandering, defaming the name
and character of the Prophet and his associates, that there is at this
day. It is no hotter a time now than it was then; there is no more
persecution now than there was then.
God has commenced to set up his kingdom on the earth, and all hell
and its devils are moving against it. Hell is yawning and sending forth
its devils and their imps. What for? To destroy the kingdom of God from
the earth. But they cannot do it.
The God of heaven showed Nebuchadnezzar that this kingdom would never
be destroyed; and that is my testimony. This is the kingdom of
heaven--the kingdom of God which Daniel saw--the kingdom that was revealed
to King Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted to him by the Prophet Daniel. This
is the kingdom that was revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted to
him by the Prophet Daniel. This is the kingdom that was to be set up in
the last days. It is like a stone taken from the mountain without hands,
with all its roughness, with all its disfigured appearance--uncomely--even
a stumbling-block and a stone of offence to the nations of the earth.
This is the kingdom that is set up; and the history of the kingdoms of
this world all understand, or can read and understand it.
Some may cry out, "Your saying that this is the kingdom of God does
that make it so?" No, not by any means. "Your testimony," Mr. Young,
"is, that this is the kingdom of God on the earth--that which was shown to
Daniel the Prophet centuries ago." Yes, that is my testimony. "Does this
make it so?" No it does not; but let me tell you that it is true;
consequently, I bear my testimony of its truth, though my testimony does
not alter that truth in the least, one way or the other; neither does any
other man's. That is my testimony, and has been all the time.
Why I testify of these things is because they are revealed to me, and
not to another for me. They were not revealed to Joseph Smith for me. He
had the keys to get visions and revelations, dreams and manifestations,
and the Holy Ghost for the people. Those keys were committed to him; and
through that administration, blessed be the name of God, I have received
the spirit of Christ Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy. Our
testimony does not make this true, and the testimony of our enemies that
it is not the kingdom of God does not make that true or false. The fact
stands upon its own basis, and will continue so to stand, without any of
the efforts of the children of men.
I have told you the cause of all the bustle and stir against us. The
blind are leading the blind; and if their hearts were honest--if they
would throw off the mask of prejudice and erroneous parental education,
they could receive the truth as well as you and I. Once in a while one
says good bye to the traditions of the fathers. A few will cast off those
prejudices that surround the people, and say, "We will read, pray, think,
and meditate, and we will ask God for ourselves. That is the reason why
you and I are here to-day. We asked God for a testimony, and he witnesses
to us from the heavens that this is the kingdom which Daniel saw, and we
have embraced it, and it is dearer than everything else upon the face of
this earth.
Do we expect that the devils will howl? Yes. When has this Church
had the peace that we have had since we have been in the mountains?
Never. Where is there peace now upon the face of the earth like the peace
we enjoy here? Nowhere. Brother Smoot said that he had been in the lower
regions. He could say that with propriety; for, in fact, we are all in
the lower regions. Where do you think the devils live?
Do you suppose that there is any such thing as a devil? Yes, a great
many believe that there is. Where does he live? The answer comes very
readily. He lives in hell, of course. Then, if there are devils here, we
must also be in hell. Do you not think that the devil is in pain? I
should think he was, by the groanings that are uttered from the east. You
see that with propriety brother Smoot could say that he has been to the
lower regions; but when he arrives here, although the altitude is much
greater, he still is in the same world. We are all here, and we are
surrounded by the devils.
Men rage and boil with wrath and indignation, and they do not know
the cause of it. If they think, "What injury have the 'Mormons' done to
me?" the response from their own minds will be, "Not any." What can the
men truthfully say, who have civilly passed through here to the west to
make their fortunes? That here is a place of peace and contentment; and,
though a thousand miles from civilization and from all the luxuries and
many of the comforts of life, yet here is a people satisfied, contented,
and happy. Did they injure you? "No." Did they treat you kindly?
"Yes." Ask the people in the east what is the matter? "We cannot tell
you,--only somebody has said something." What have they said? "We do not
know; we only heard a rumour,--that is all."
The people abroad are just as foolish, unwise, and short-sighted as
they can possibly be represented by the best learned men in the world.
What are they doing? What they have done all the time. Have they been
trying to destroy "Mormonism?" Yes. Did they destroy it when they took
the life of Joseph? No. "Mormonism" is here, the priesthood is here, the
keys of the kingdom are here on the earth; and when Joseph went, they did
not go. And if the wicked should succeed in taking my life, the keys of
the kingdom will remain with the Church. But my faith is that they will
not succeed in taking my life just yet. They have not as good a man to
deal with as they had when they had Joseph Smith. I do not profess to be
very good. I will try to take care of number one, and if it is wicked for
me to try to preserve myself, I shall persist in it; for I am intending to
take care of myself.
When they killed Joseph, they were talking about killing a great many
others. Would you believe that the apostates say that I was the
instigator of the death of Joseph and Hyrum? And William Smith has
asserted that I was the cause of the death of his brother Samuel, when
brother Woodruff, who is here to-day, knows that we were waiting at the
depot in Boston to take passage east at the very time when Joseph and
Hyrum were killed. Brother Taylor was nearly killed at the time, and
Doctor Richards had his whiskers nearly singed off by the blaze from the
guns. In a few weeks after, Samuel Smith died, and I am blamed as the
cause of his death. We did not hear of the death of Joseph until some
three or four weeks after he was basely martyred.
What is now the news circulated throughout the United States? That
Captain Gunnison was killed by Brigham young, and that Babbitt was killed
on the Plains by Brigham Young and his Danite band. What more? That
Brigham Young has killed all the men who have died between the Missouri
river and California. I do not say that President Buchanan has any such
idea, or the officers of the troops who are reported to be on their way
here; but such are the newspaper stories. Such reports are in the
bellows, and editors and politicians are blowing them out.
According to their version, I am guilty of the death of every man,
woman, and child that has died between the Missouri river and the
California gold mines; and they are coming here to chastise me. The idea
makes me laugh; and when do you think they will get a chance? Catching is
always before hanging. They understand, you know, that I had gone north
and intended to leave this place with such as would follow me; and they
are coming to declare a jubilee. It is their desire to say to the people,
"You are free; you are not under the bondage of Brigham Young; you need
wear his yoke no longer; now let us get drunk, fight, play at cards, and
race horses; and every one of you women turn to be whores and become
associated with the civilization of Christendom." That is the freedom
they are endeavouring to declare here.
I will make this proposition to Uncle Sam. I will furnish carriages,
horses, the best of drivers, and the best food I have, to transport to the
States every man, woman, and child that wishes to leave this place, if he
will send on at his own expense all those who want to come to Utah; and we
will gain a thousand to their one, as all who understand the matter very
well know. It would have been much better to have loaded the waggons
reported to be on the way here, with men, women, and children, than with
provisions to sustain soldiers; for they will never get here without we
help them; neither do I think that it is the design of President Buchanan
that they should come here.
I am not going to interpret dreams; for I don't profess to be such a
Prophet as were Joseph Smith and Daniel; but I am a Yankee guesser; and I
guess that James Buchanan has ordered this Expedition to appease the wrath
of the angry hounds who are howling around him. He did not design to
start men on the 15th of July to cross these Plains to this point on foot.
Russell and Co. will probably make from eight to ten hundred thousand
dollars by freighting the baggage of the Expedition. What would induce
the Government to expend that amount of money for this Territory? Three
years ago they appropriated $45,000 for the purpose of making treaties
with the Utah Indians. Has even that diminutively small sum ever been
sent here? It is in the coffers of the Government to this day, unless
they have stolen it out, or improperly paid it out for some other purpose.
Have they ever paid their debts due to Utah? No. And now they have
capped their meanness by taking the mail out of the hands of Hiram
Kimball, simply because they knew that he was a member of this Church. If
he had only have apostatized in season and written lies about us, it is
not probable that his mail contract would have been taken from him without
the least shadow of right, as has now been done. He was to have $23,000
for carrying the mail from Independence to this city once a month which
was the lowest bid; but because he is a "Mormon," the contract must be
disannulled, and that, too, after he had put by far the most faithful and
and [sic] efficient service on the route that there ever has been, as is
most well known at Washington. If I thought that my prayer might be
answered, I would pray that not another United States' mail may come to
this city; for until Mr. Kimball began his service it has been a constant
source of annoyance, disappointment, and to us loss. We can carry our own
mails, raise our own dust, and sustain ourselves.
But woe, woe to that man who comes here to unlawfully interfere with
my affairs. Woe, woe to those men who come here to unlawfully meddle with
me and this people. I swore in Nauvoo, when my enemies were looking me in
the face, that I would send them to hell across lots, if they meddled with
me; and I ask no more odds of all hell to-day. If they kill me, it is all
right; but they will not until the time comes; and I think that I shall
die a natural death; at least I expect to.
Would it not make any man or community angry to endure and reflect
upon the abuse our enemies have heaped upon us, and are still striving to
pour out upon God's people? Brother Bernhisel says that McGraw's mail
contract was out in August last; but they demanded at his hands and would
pay him to carry it two or three months longer. The Post Office
Department knew, or should have known, that it had forwarded the
acceptance of Mr. Kimball's bid for the new contract in that mail which
McGraw was not carrying; and then it took advantage of the failure of that
mail and trumped up a false allegation of the unsettled state of Utah, and
on those grounds disannulled the contract with Mr. Kimball. Our mail
rights and other rights and privileges are most unjustly trampled under
foot; but they can spend millions to raise a hubbub and make out that
something wrong is being done in Utah.
Let me be the President of the United States a little while, and I
would say to the Senators, Representatives, and other officers of
Government, Gentlemen, you must act the part of men and statesmen, or I
will reprove you. What are they angry at me for? Because I will reprove
men for their iniquity, and because I have such influence here,--the very
thing they are all after, They think that they are going to obtain it
with money; but they cannot do it.
There is no influence, truth, or righteousness in the world only what
flows from God our Father in the heavens. We have that power, that
influence; we also have such love and submission that we submit ourselves
to our Father and God, as a child does to a kind parent.
May God bless you, brethren and sisters. Amen.
JOSEPH SMITH'S FAMILY--BASHFULNESS IN PUBLIC SPEAKING--THE
COMING CRISIS--COUNSEL.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, August 2, 1857.
I rejoice in the privilege of hearing the servants of the Lord speak
to the Saints. It is a feast to me, and to hear men speak by the Holy
Ghost. I very much rejoice in seeing brother Elias Smith upon the stand
this morning. I have been acquainted with him for many years, and yet I
have never until now heard him address an assembly, except in the capacity
of a Judge. I am thankful to hear his voice in public. He is a cousin of
the Prophet Joseph and of George A. Smith.
I have reflected much concerning the family of the grandfather and
father of Joseph the Prophet. Their family connections were very
extensive; and it has been a subject of deep regret to me that there were
so few in that large circle who have been valiant for the truth since the
death of the Prophet. Still I do not know but that Joseph had quite as
many of his connections valiant for the truth, in proportion to their
number, as Jesus had; for Jesus had many brothers and sisters, and the
most of them were opposed to him, and continued so during the greater part
of their lives. I used to think, while Joseph was living, that his life
compared well with the history of the Saviour; though the most of father
Joseph Smith's family have believed and obeyed the Gospel, and have lived
their religion in a good degree. Many of them are not here. Some of them
I have known in the Eastern States that never have gathered with us. But
the old stock are pretty much dead, and I do not know but what all of them
are. Father John Smith was the last one, in this Church, of the brothers
of father Joseph Smith; and he died, and is buried here. Grandmother
Smith lived in Kirtland a short time after she gathered.
I trust in the good feelings and in the confidence that brother Elias
has gained this morning in speaking as he has from this stand; for many
times I have thought of it, and regretted that he was not on the stand a
preacher with the rest. Some men rise here to tell about their feelings,
and are so diffident, so bashful, and it is so hard for them to
speak,--men, too, who have had such privileges in their former lives as
brother Elias has had, who is well schooled, and has had an opportunity of
becoming acquainted with the best of society--with men of influence. When
he arrived to years of discretion, as he has told you, he marked out his
own path. His advantages in his youth were far greater than were those of
most of our public speakers.
And there is brother Carrington, when he rises here to address a
congregation--though it is seldom that we can get him on this stand--will
tell how he shrinks from speaking to the people, how bashful and delicate
his feelings are in this matter. Men who understand language, who were
taught it in their youth, who have had the privilege of schools and good
education, to get up and tell how they shrink from addressing this people.
When I think of myself, I think just this--I have the grit in me, and
I will do my duty any how. When I began to speak in public, I was about
as destitute of language as a man could well be. But tell about being
bashful, when a man has all the learning and words he can ask for! With
scores and hundreds of thousands of words with which to convey one's
ideas, and then tell about being bashful before a people! How I have had
the headache, when I had ideas to lay before the people, and not words to
express them; but I was so gritty that I always tried my best.
I do not like to hear men make excuses, although it is natural, and I
put up with it. I wish they could see and understand that they have had
advantages above many of their brethren--that they have been greatly
blessed, and should never complain, but should stand up here and exercise
themselves according to the best of their ability, and do all the good
possible for them to do.
Brother Elias Smith, I can say, is a man possessed of as much
judgment and discretion in his feelings as any man I know. He is filled
with wisdom. He is filled with judgment and with counsel, if he would
dare to let it out. I would like to hear his voice and the voices of
others, and I would like to have them not complain much about getting up
to speak before the public.
Often, when I stand up here, I have the feelings of a person that is
unable to convey his ideas, because I have not the advantage of language.
However, I do not very frequently complain of that, but I rise to do the
best I can and to give the people the best I have for them at the time;
and if it don't suit them they can go without it, for I am not responsible
whether it suits them or not.
I rejoice in the words of brother Heber this day. He has spoken by
the power of the Holy Ghost, and you are his witnesses. You may all
witness to this; and his ideas are as rich, I may say, as the flowers of
eternity, and his ideas and his words are congenial to my feelings and
spirit. He told you here to-day that we never differ--that I say, "Go
ahead, say what you please."
I look at the spirits and the principles of men, and try to behold
what is in them; and if I can discover that they are right, I do not care
one particle how they express their ideas, so that I can but understand
them. I can say furthermore that you cannot, the best of you, beat
brother Kimball's language. You may call up the college-bred man, and he
cannot beat it.
Brother Heber and I never went to school until we got into
"Mormonism:" that was the first of our schooling. We never had the
opportunity of letters in our youth, but we had the privilege of picking
up brush, chopping down trees, rolling logs, and working amongst the
roots, and of getting our shins, feet, and toes bruised. The uncle of
brother Merrell, who now sits in the congregation, made me the first hat
that my father ever bought for me; and I was then about eleven years of
age. I did not go bareheaded previous to that time, neither did I call on
my father to buy me a five-dollar hat every few months, as some of my boys
do. My sisters would make me what was called a Jo. Johnson cap for
winter, and in summer I wore a straw hat which I frequently braided for
myself. I learned to make bread, wash the dishes, milk the cows, and make
butter; and can make butter, and can beat the most of the women in this
community at housekeeping. Those are about all the advantages I gained in
my youth. I know how to economise, for my father had to do it.
There are a great many little items pertaining to life that I do not
very often speak about. Still they have to be borne with. They arise
from traits in our characters, and we have to meet with them right in this
community. The imported goods that we purchase are brought over a
thousand miles in waggons, and yet probably I have not a young child that
is three years old but what has cost me more to furnish with shoes than I
ever cost my father to furnish me with shoes in my whole life. Brother
Heber as been teaching you a little economy. I tell you that you have
been warned and forewarned again, that the time would come when, if you
had hats, you would have to make them; and if the ladies had bonnets, they
would have to make them here.
Whether it is to your sorrow or joy, I will tell you what I discover;
and I have been much surprised, and sometimes I have been overjoyed with
the discovery. Sometimes my heart quakes a little, my nerves tremble in
consequence of the great things that God is bringing forth. Do we realize
that they are coming on us, I may say, faster than we are preparing
ourselves to meet them? There is one sign after another, revelation after
revelation. The Lord is hastening his work. He is bringing to pass the
sayings of the Prophets faster than the people are prepared to receive
them. You know that we have often exhorted you to be wide awake to your
duties, to be watchful and prayerful, and to be full of the Holy Spirit,
lest the Lord should roll on his work faster than you could understand it.
It would be hard for the people to explain away the idea that the
Government of the United States is shutting down the gate upon us, for it
is too visible; and this is what hastens the work of the Lord, which you
are praying for every day. I do not believe that there is a man or woman
here, who prays at all, but what prays every day for the Lord to hasten
his work. Now take care, for if he does, may be you will not be prepared
to meet it.
The time must come when there will be a separation between this
kingdom and the kingdoms of this world, even in every point of view. The
time must come when this kingdom must be free and independent from all
other kingdoms. Are you prepared to have the thread cut to-day?
I know the feelings of a great many, and I need not go out of my own
family to hear, "O dear, are there no ribbons coming? I want that
artificial quick; I want you to go and buy me that nice bonnet, for I am
afraid there never will another one be brought here." If I am tried in
any point in this world, it is with regard to the bearings of my own
conduct to my own family. I have told them, and tell them, and talk to
them, and talk about it, and ask them, Am I in the line of my duty while I
can feed women and children who do nothing but sit and fold their hands,
and wear out their clothing, and dress them in finery, and pamper them,
and they get so that good beef, pork, bread, butter, cheese, tea, coffee,
and sugar, with fruit, and all kinds of garden sauce, are no rarity to
them at all, and their appetites are poor and they cannot eat? This is
the case with me in my family. If there is any trial upon me, it is to
know whether I am in the line of my duty in this matter.
Should not I take my tea and coffee, my beef and pork, and every
other good thing, and put it into the hands of the men who sweat over the
rock for the Temple, instead of feeding men, women, and children, who do
not strive to do all they are capable of doing? I am tried on that point,
and I must say that if there is anything in the world that bothers me, it
is the whining of women and children to prevent me from doing that which I
know that I ought to do.
I will acknowledge with brother Kimball, and I know it is the case
with him, that I am a great lover of women. In what particular? I love
to see them happy, to see them well fed and well clothed, and I love to
see them cheerful. I love to see their faces and talk with them, when
they talk in righteousness; but as for anything more, I do not care.
There are probably but few men in the world who care about the private
society of women less than I do. I also love children, and I delight to
make them happy.
I accumulate a large amount of means, but I would just as soon feed
my neighbour as myself. And every one who knows me knows whether or not a
piece of johnnycake and butter and a potatoe satisfies Brigham. I can
live on as cheap and as plain food as can any man in Israel. I have said
to my family, a great many times, I want you to make me home-made
clothing; but I would meet such a whizzing about my ears, if I were to
have even a pair of home-made pantaloons made. I do not know that I have
a wife in the world but what would say, "You are not going to wear them;
you ought to wear something more respectable, for you deserve to as much
as any man does."
It is the man who works hard, who sweats over the rock, and goes to
the kanyons for lumber, that I count more worthy of good food and dress
than I am. But do not I labour? Yes, with my mind. Can any man tell
what labour there is upon me? No, not a man can begin to tell what I feel
for the Later-day Saints in this Territory, throughout the mountains and
the world,--what I feel for their salvation and preservation. They have
to be looked after and cared for; and all this more particularly rests
upon me. My brethren love to share with me all that the Lord puts upon
them; but in the day of trouble they look to me to secure them and pint
out a way for their escape.
Now, let me tell you one thing--I shall take it as a witness that God
designs to cut the thread between us and the world, when an army
undertakes to make their appearance in this Territory to chastise me or to
destroy my life from the earth. I lay it down that right is or at least
should be might with Heaven, with its servants, and with all its people on
the earth. As for the rest, we will wait a little while to see; but I
shall take a hostile movement by our enemies as an evidence that it is
time for the thread to be cut. I think we will find three hundred who
will lap water, and we can whip out the Midianites. Brother Heber said
that he could turn out his women, and they would whip them. I ask no odds
of the wicked, the best way they can fix it.
Brother Heber says that the music is taken out of his sermons when
brother Carrington clips out words here and there; and I have taken out
the music from mine, for I know the traditions and false notions of the
people. Our sermons are read by tens of thousands outside of Utah.
Members of the British Parliament have those Journals of Discourses,
published by brother Watt; they have them locked up, they secrete them,
and go to their rooms to study them, and they know all about us. They
may, perhaps, keep them from the Queen, for fear that she would believe
and be converted.
I know that I have seen the day when, let men use language like
brother Heber has to-day, and many would apostatize from the true faith.
In printing my remarks, I often omit the sharp words, though they are
perfectly understood and applicable here; for I do not wish to spoil the
good I desire to do. Let my remarks go to the world in a way the
prejudices of the people can bear, that they may read them, and ponder
them, and ask God whether they are true.
I am thankful to hear the servants of God speak; and, as I have
frequently said, I do not care what you say when you rise to speak here;
for I want to know whether a man seeks with all his heart to know the mind
of God concerning him. If he does, all is right with him.
Brother Heber alluded to counseling men and women who come to him
after they had been to me, and said that they always received the same
counsel I had given them. I never have known it to fail, that if they
come to me and then go to brother Heber, they will get the same counsel
all the time. And so they would from every one of the Twelve, from the
High Council, from the Seventies, and High Priests, and every officer in
the Church, if every officer in the Church would take the course that
brother Heber, and I, and a few others do. What is that? Never to give
counsel, unless you have it to give. If you have counsel, give it,
because you can have no correct counsel except by the Spirit of
revelation: that is my standard. I have no counsel for a man, unless I
have the testimony of Jesus on the subject. Then, when the same man asks
counsel of me, and goes to brother Heber, do you not see that if he acts
on the same principle and gives counsel, it must be by the Spirit of
revelation; or he has no counsel to give, if it is not by that Spirit.
Then let the same man go to brother Wells and ask his counsel on the same
subject, without letting him know that he has been to Brigham or to Heber,
and brother Daniel will give the same counsel by the same Spirit.
The difficulty with regard to giving counsel that conflicts consists
in men's giving counsel from their own judgment, without the Spirit of
God. Every man in the kingdom of God would give the same counsel upon
each subject, if he would wait until he had the mind of Christ upon it.
Then all would have one word and mind, and each man would see eye to eye.
But there is a weakness in the brethren, and it is in mankind in
general. You ask almost any person in the world a question, and he thinks
it a disgrace to be unable to answer it. He feels chagrined, his mind
flags, when he finds that he is not quite as knowing as his neighbours
think him to be; and, to avoid this, he will often venture an answer
without knowing the facts in the case, or the effects of his answer.
If you would always pause and say, I have no counsel for you. I have
no answer for you on this subject, because I have no manifestation of the
Spirit, and be willing to let everybody in the world know that you are
ignorant when you are, you would become wise a great deal quicker than to
give counsel on your own judgment, without the Spirit of revelation. If
the Elders of Israel would observe this rule, never to give counsel unless
they give it by the testimony of the truth, by the Spirit of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and, if they cannot give counsel in that manner, not to give
any, there would be no conflicting counsel in the kingdom. All would be
one; counsel would be one: we would soon come to understanding and be of
one heart and mind, and our blessings would be increased upon us faster
than in taking any other course.
May God bless you and preserve us in the truth. Amen.
APPROVAL OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE DELEGATION TO
CONGRESS--CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, ETC.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, August 9, 1857.
So far as I am concerned, with regard to the performance of duties by
the Elders of Israel--the duties which have been placed upon them and
required at their hands upon their missions--for the gratification of the
brethren just referred to by Elder Taylor, I will say, If there has been
nothing hitherto expressed here manifesting the feelings of the First
Presidency of the Church and the members in general on-this point, I can
answer for the people, by asking and answering a question.
Brother Taylor, brother George A. Smith, and brother Bernhisel, did
you do your duty in Congress in reference to presenting our petition for a
State? I think that I can answer for this Committee, as well as for the
people, and say that they discharged their duty manfully and
satisfactorily to their God and to their brethren. I can answer for the
people, and say that they are most perfectly satisfied with the labours of
our Committee. When a man can say of a truth, "I have done the very best
that I could in my mission," the heart of every Saint on earth acquainted
with the circumstances, the angels in heaven, and our heavenly Father are
all satisfied. There is no more required of us than we are capable of
performing. The First Presidency are satisfied, and I can say that the
people are satisfied.
With regard to the labours of brother Taylor in editing the paper
called The Mormon, published in the city of New York, I have heard many
remarks concerning the editorials in that paper, not only from Saints, but
from those who do not profess to believe the religion we have embraced;
and it is probably one of the strongest edited papers that is now
published. I can say, as to its editorials, that it is one of the
strongest papers ever published, so far as my information extends; and I
have never read one sentence in them but what my heart could bid success
to it and beat a happy response to every sentence that I have read or
heard read. Brother Taylor, that is for you; and I believe that these are
the feelings and the sentiments of all in this community who have perused
that paper.
We are satisfied with the labours of the Elders generally. True, it
is not every one that knows and understands all things; it is also true
that men are liable to falter and fail in their judgment; but that is
nothing against the real character of the man, if he is doing the best he
knows how. It is true that at times Elders need correcting, and they
receive correlation in this place. It is also true that, when you correct
an individual in his errors and try to place him in better circumstances
pertaining to judgment and discretion, it is annoying, it is grievous, it
is painful to the sensation of that individual. It is very true that
chastisements are grievous when they are received; but if they are
received in patience, they will work out salvation for those who
cheerfully submit to them.
If the time was that the Elders of Israel could not be chastened and
corrected for their wrongs, and be set right, you may know that they have
proved recreant to the faith. And if those who are appointed to lead this
people dare not rise up and tell them of their iniquity and chastise them
therefor, and teach them the way of life and salvation, you may know that
your leaders have fallen from their station.
The Lord has bestowed the everlasting Priesthood upon the children of
men for their salvation. It is not believed for a moment, by any person
who believes in the Bible, that a man or woman can be saved in their sins.
They have to be separated from their sins and iniquity; they have to put
off the old man, with all his deeds, and put on the new man Christ Jesus.
If ever we see the time that we dare not tell men of their evils, and
correct them when in fault, you may despair of salvation in this kingdom.
One grand cause of the enmity entertained towards us by officials
sent here by the General Government has simply been, that I take the
liberty of telling men where they do wrong and wherein they do
wrong,--both those who are in the Church and those who are out of it; and
my brethren take the same liberty. If men do evil, we tell them of their
meanness; whereas, in the other portion of our Government, men dare not
speak their minds. They are tied up, bound up; they are in fetters and
chains in every particular--as much so as brother Taylor has told you, and
a great deal more. He said that if a man was found in Congress who dare
speak in favour of innocence, justice, truth, and mercy, he dare not
speak. If there were any there, when our petition was expected to be
presented, who felt in their hearts to favour it, they dared not open
their mouths in favour of its being granted; for if they spoke at all,
they must speak according to the popular notions of the people; they must
go with the tide of popularity.
This is the case with the whole world; but we are chosen out of the
world. And if we accept salvation on the terms it is offered to us, we
have got to be honest in every thought, in our reflections, in our
meditations, in our private circles, in our deal, in our declarations, and
in every act of our lives, fearless and regardless of every principle of
error, of every principle of falsehood that may be presented. We have no
difficulties with our Government: we never have had any difficulties with
any government under which we have lived. But there has been a
difficulty, and what is it? The "Mormons" have got something that the
rest, of course, have not, "and we will kill them out of the way; we will
not have them."
As brother Taylor has said, speaking of the wisdom and power
exhibited by the people of the world, there are men of talent, of thought,
of reflection, and knowledge in all cunning mechanism: they are expert in
that, though they do not know from whence they receive their intelligence.
The Spirit of the Lord has not yet entirely done striving with the people,
offering them knowledge and intelligence; consequently it reveals unto
them, instructs them, teaches them, and guides them even in the way they
like to travel. Men know how to construct railroads and all manner of
machinery; they understand cunning workmanship, &c.; but that is all
revealed to them by the Spirit of the Lord, though they know it not.
You can find in the minds of the people most admirable intelligence
in things pertaining to the world; but when you touch the intelligence
that pertains to other worlds, to the kingdom of heaven and heavenly
things, they are dark as midnight darkness--so dark as this, that, let
ever so good a thing be revealed to them, no matter how good for a nation,
a people, a community, or an individual--let a man have it revealed to him
how he can benefit the whole nation, they turn around and deny God in it.
They are so dark as that, when they never received a particle of
intelligence but what came from God. They are filled with darkness.
Instead of wishing injuries to come on them, my heart is pained for
them when I behold their situation. They are drunk, not with strong
drink, but with their own anger, and rage, and the spirit of the enemy
which they have received. They are as wild as California horses. When a
lasso is thrown on them, they will run madly against a fence, or a stone
wall, or over a person, or anything; they are frantic, and would break
their own necks. It is just so with the inhabitants of the earth, and
especially so with our Government; and they are hastening with all
possible speed, with the larriet [sic] around their necks, to jump the
precipice and destroy themselves.
I can tell you one thing that I know concerning the inhabitants of
the United States. It has come to this, that the honest among them--men,
women, and children, have dreams foreboding evil. The visions of their
minds are troubled; they are in sorrow; they feel melancholy, and have a
presentiment that something evil is going to befall the people. And if
you could discern the thoughts of their hearts this day, you would
probably find millions of such persons in our Government. When they
reflect upon the maddened zeal of the leaders, they know that they can
endure but a little while, and query, "What will come?" What will the
Lord bring on the people--upon this happy government? What evil
catastrophe is about to befall us? Will there be war? Will we fight the
"Mormons," and will the Lord give the "Mormons" power to fight against us?
Will the North make war upon the South? Will they take the sword one
against the other? What will become of us? These forebodings are upon
the people. They have dreams in the night which frighten them, and
reflections in the day-time which give them sorrow; and they are harassed
from day to day. They are to be pitied; for sorrow, woe, destruction,
shame, and misery await them. I am sorry for them: they are to be
pitied--to be prayed for.
Almost every man that has come from the East of late is telling you
the political feelings and desires of the Government towards this people.
Brother Taylor has just related that a gentleman he met on the road
remarked, "What! can you 'Mormons' fight the United States? Can you
contend with them? You had better take a more specific policy than you
have. Do not speak about the President, nor about any of the officials."
We shall talk as we please about them; for this is the right and privilege
granted to us by the Constitution of the United States: and, as ministers
of salvation, we shall take the liberty of telling men of their sins.
I shall take the liberty of talking as I please about the President
of the United States, and I expect that I know his character better than
he knows it himself. I will tell you in a few words a little of it.
James Buchanan, who is now sitting in the chair of state, and presiding
over this great Republic, is naturally a passive, docile, kind,
benevolent, and good man,--that is his natural disposition, I will
venture. Arouse him, and he has been a man who could make flaming
speeches. He is now bound up; they have the fetters upon his feet; he is
handcuffed; his elbows are pinioned; he is bound on every side, and they
make him do as they please. Is he obliged to do so? No.
Is a man fit to be President of the United States, who will bow and
succumb to the whims of the people? No. A president should learn the
true situation of his constituents, and deal out even-handed justice to
all, utterly regardless of the clamour of party. Suppose the President to
be under the clamour and dictation of several parties, he would order out
a company to-day, and to-morrow call them back; he would make a decree
to-day, and next week revoke it and make another to suit another party.
He ought not to pay attention to any party, but consider the nation as a
family, and deal out justice and mercy to them equally and independently.
I wish that Hickory Jackson was now our President; for he would kick
some of those rotten-hearted sneaks out, or rather order his negroes to do
it. If we had a man in the chair who really was a man, and capable of
magnifying his office, he would call upon his servants, and order him to
kick those mean, miserable sneaks out of the presidential mansion, off
from its grounds, and into the streets. But the President hearkens to the
clamour around him; and, as did Pontious Pilate, in the case of Jesus
Christ, has washed his hands, saying, "I am clear of the blood of those
Latter-day Saints. Gentlemen, you have dictated, and I will order a
soldiery and officials to Utah." It is said in the Bible, that whosoever
ye yield yourselves to obey, his servants ye are. The President has
yielded himself a servant to cliques and parties, and their servants he
shall be. And all that has been spoken of him by brother Kimball, in the
name of Jesus Christ, shall come upon him.
Do you think that we shall be called treasoners, for rebuking him in
his sinful course? Yes. Talk of loyalty to Government! Hardly a man
among them cares for the Government of the United States, any more than he
does for the useless card that lies on the table while he is playing out
his hand. They disregard the Constitution as they would any old fable in
any old school book. Scarcely a member on the floor of Congress cares
anything about it.
While brother Taylor was referring to the conduct of officers of the
Government, to the pistols, bowie-knives, the oyster suppers, the pleasant
little knick-knacks, and this, that, and the other, I was reminded of a
circumstance that transpired in the region of the Salt Works in the State
of New York. In that section there was a place called Salt Point, one of
the roughest in the world for drunkenness, gaming, fighting, and cursing;
and within a few miles from Salt Point was a place called Onadaga Hollow,
and the people in those places used to be in a constant strife to see
which should act the worst. As a man named Thaddeus Woods, who had become
considerably wealthy by making and selling salt, was going from Onadaga
Hollow to Salt Point, he stopped at a tavern, half way between the two
places; and when he and his travelling companions had rested themselves
and fed their horses, Woods told one of his teamsters, who was one of the
wickedest men to be found in those two places, that he would treat him if
he would say three of the wickedest words that he could think of. The man
agreed that he would; and when he had the attention and eyes of the
company fixed upon him, he shouted out "Onadaga Hollow, Thad. Woods, and
Salt Point," remarking that those were three of the worst words that he
could think of.
Brother Taylor says that language cannot express the conduct, the
feelings, and the spirit that are upon the people in the States. Well,
suppose you take up a labour and swear about them, what are the worst
words that can be spoken? 'Nigger stealing,' Mobs or Vigilance
Committees, and Rotten-hearted Administrators of a Government are three of
the meanest and wickedest words that can be spoken. I expect that
somebody will write that back to the States, as being treasonable, because
spoken by a Latter-day Saint.
With regard to the present contention and strife, and to our position
and situation, there are few things to be considered, and there is much
labour to be performed. Let the Saints live their religion; let them have
faith in God, do all the good they can to the household of faith and to
everybody else, and trust in god for the result; for the world will not
believe one truth about us. I tell you that the Government of the United
States, and other governments that are acquainted with us, will not
believe a single truth about us. What will they believe? Every lie that
every poor, miserable, rotten-hearted curse can tell. What are we to do,
under these circumstances? Live our religion. Are you going to contend
against the United States? No. But when they come here to take our lives
solely for our religion, be ye also ready.
Do I expect to stand still, sit still, or lie still, and tamely let
them take away my life? I have told you a great many times what I have to
say about that. I do not profess to be so good a man as Joseph Smith was.
I do not walk under their protection nor into their prisons, as he did.
And though officers should pledge me their protection, as Governor Ford
pledged protection to Joseph, I would not trust them any sooner than I
would a wolf with my dinner; neither do I trust in a wicked judge, nor in
any evil person. I trust in my God, and in honest men and women who have
the power of the Almighty upon them. What will we do? Keep the wicked
off as long as we can, preach righteousness to them, and teach them the
way of salvation.
Some speak of the nations now on the earth forgetting God, they have
not forgotten Him, for they have never remembered Him. They have not
departed from His ways, for they never found them; they have not lost
faith in Him, for they never had any. There are men sitting here who were
brought up Christians, who were trained to believe in the sacred words of
truth contained in the Old and New Testament. What were you taught by
your priests, your fathers, mothers, and associates, with regard to God?
How many anxious hours I have experienced in my youth, to know, see, and
understand things as they were and as they are. Did I ever see a man who
could instruct me in those matters, until I saw Joseph Smith? I never
did. And after I had made a profession of religion, I would ask the most
powerful preachers whether they knew anything about God--where He is
located, where Heaven is, and where Hell is, who is the Father, who the
Son, and what the distinction is between them, who is Michael the
archangel, who is Gabriel, and so on. Could they tell a thing about it?
No: and I am a witness that no man in Christendom knew anything about it,
unless it was revealed by the Spirit to him.
I may say that many had revelations from God, but they had not the
keys, and rights, and knowledge, and system of the religion of God. John
Wesley was a good man, and so were thousands of others. Will they be
saved? They are saved. You know what my doctrine is with regard to this
matter. Every man will be judged according to the deeds done in the body.
Did they know anything about heaven, or God? No, they did not. Could
they even explain one of the first simple lessons in the religion we
believe, with regard to mortal man? Could any of them explain what the
soul of man is, when it is written in the Bible, and they have read it
thousands of times? No.
I have heard men preach hours upon the soul of man; and one of the
smartest men that I ever heard preach, would up a long discource [sic] by
saying, "Finally, brethren, I must come to the conclusion that the soul of
man is an immaterial substance." I have sat days and weeks, and months,
and years to hear men explain the things of God; and what did they know
about them? Nothing.
We have the keys of the priesthood and the words of eternal life, and
understand them, and what manner of persons ought we to be? We ought to
live our religion, believe in our God, love and serve Him, be faithful to
Him, to one another, to all our covenants, and keep the devils from
killing us as long as we can, and that is just as long as we have a mind
to.
I recollect saying to a certain official here--one who wanted a few
Indians for killing Gunnison, If you want them, I will put them into your
hands.' They were presented to him, but he dared not take them. I told
him at the time of the conversation, that there might be some thirty of
those Indians; but, if the United States should send 50,000 of their
troops here they could not get one of them, if they had a mind to keep out
of the way; and he believed it. I suppose you would like to know upon
what principle? Like some of brother Taylor's honest men that he thought
he had found in the States, who, when he thought that he had found them,
and went to put his hand upon them, were like the Paddy's flea--they were
not there, they were somewhere else. That is the reason why they could
not get the Indians. There is the same reason why they cannot get us,
until we have a mind to go them.
Do you wonder that the world is angry at us? No; for the time must
come when your faith must be tried. Can the Lord take this kingdom and
separate if [sic] from the kingdom of darkness? Can He bring it forth to
establish His work upon the earth as extensively as the Prophets have
prophesied, without separating us from the kingdoms of this word? You
say, No. How is he going to do it? You have seen how, so far. In the
days of Joseph, a string of guards was set around him on every side, lest
he should have communion with the remnants of Israel who are wandering on
the plains and in the kanyons of this country. Those guards fought us,
whipped us, killed our Prophets, and abused our community, until we are
now driven by them into the very midst of the Lamanites. Oh, what a pity
they could not foresee the evil they were bringing upon themselves, by
driving this people into the midst of the savages of the plains. And here
am I, yet, Governor of Utah.
Do you wonder that they are angry? Five years ago I told them that I
should be Governor as long as the Lord wanted me to be, and that all hell
could not remove me. They have tried during those five years to remove
me, and I have had to appoint a secretary for this Territory three times
in that period; for the ones appointed by the President absconded from the
Territory. And the prospect now is, that I shall still have to be the
Governor--that I shall again have to preside over the Legislature, and
that Captain Hooper, whom I appointed Secretary, will have to continue in
that office.
God bless you. Amen.
TRADITION--DUTY OF THE SAINTS TO LIVE THEIR RELIGION--SAFETY
OF ZION--PREPARATION FOR THE FUTURE, ETC.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, August 30, 1857.
I can truly say that I am happy for the privilege of meeting with the
Saints.
When I am alone, and look by the vision of the Spirit upon this
people, my heart says within me, God bless the people, God bless the
people; and I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus. I feel to bless
the people continually, from day to day. Their interest is my interest;
their welfare is my welfare; their hope is mine. We are of one faith; and
to see the people drawing near unto the Lord and becoming more of one
heart and of one mind is the most cheering thought and reflection that can
pass upon my mind: there is nothing else that compares with it. As for
the riches of the world or the good things of the world--as far gold or
silver, houses and lands, they are nothing in comparison to the purity of
the faith of the people.
This people are increasing in their faith, they are increasing in
their good works, and they are really becoming the Saints of the Most
High. Any person possessing the Spirit of the holy Gospel, and who has
been acquainted with this people during years that are past, can readily
discover that they are merging to the period when they will become the
disciples of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps we think that we are perfectly so
now; but it is not the case--we are engaged in a preparatory work.
When the Gospel came to us, it found us in the depths of ignorance;
it found us in darkness; it found us possessed of all the prejudices,
feelings, and views that now exist in the world. There is no man--there
is no woman, but what was more or less clothed upon with the traditions of
their fathers. There cannot a person be found at the present day--one who
has arrived at the years to think, to act, and to judge for himself, but
what is more or less clothed and enveloped in the traditions of their
fathers.
On the other hand, there is no person possessing the Spirit of
revelation but what can very readily discern that the ways of the Lord are
not like the ways of man, and that the children of men have gone out of
the way. Take all nations--all people--by communities, by societies, by
families, and by individuals,--take the whole mass of the inhabitants of
the earth, and they have each taken to their own way, as any person
possessing the Spirit of revelation can discern to be the case in the
whole world. At the same time, they imagine that they are right--that
they have light--that they have intelligence--that they are possessed of
true knowledge pertaining to God and the things of eternity.
Take the inhabitants of Japan--islands situated between here and
China,--and if you are acquainted with the people, with their feelings and
true sentiments, you know that they actually believe that they are the
only people that are enlightened, and that all the rest of mankind are
heathen. Go to China, which is called by its inhabitants the celestial
empire because of their supposed purity, and they actually believe that
they are the only nation under heaven that has the true knowledge of
eternity.
Turn to the Christian nations on the eastern and western
continents--take enlightened Christendom as the whole--and they believe
that they are the only people who have the knowledge of God. It is true
that they far exceed all other nations in many of the arts and sciences,
and they also believe that they are the only people who understand the
true religion of heaven.
They are sending their missionaries to the east and to the west, to
the north and to the south, and they are penetrating every nook and
corner, to enlighten what they call the heathen nations. Is not that the
case? That arises from the traditions of their fathers which are handed
down to the children, and they are enveloped in them.
When we look at this people, could we expect them to become prepared
to be the disciples of the Lord Jesus in one, in five, in ten, in twenty,
or in thirty years? No. And it will be just as much as we can do to be
worthy to be the brothers and sisters of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
when he makes his appearance. Let us strive with all our might, be as
watchful as it is possible for us to be, apply ourselves by faith and
diligence to the keeping of his commandments, and continue so doing until
Jesus sets his feet upon this continent, and we will then find that we are
only just prepared to receive him. This is the preparatory work, and it
will prepare the people, if they will live for it.
How can we live our religion, except we do as we are told? I will
reverse the question and enquire, How can this people do as they are told,
except they live their religion? They cannot. Every family--every
neighborhood is taught to glorify God. They are instructed from day to
day, they are taught the way of life and salvation, they are counselled
continually to seek unto the Lord their God, to obtain the faith of the
ancients, to obtain the light of the heavens, to walk in the light of His
countenance day by day; but how can you do these things, except you do as
you are told? You cannot. Neither can you live your religion, except you
do as you are told; for the people are taught to live their
religion,--they are taught to cease from every evil thought and every evil
action, to cease having a murmuring spirit, to cease having a doubtful
feeling; and they are taught to cease being neglectful in regard to any
known duty We are taught to double our diligence where we have been
slack, to seek unto the Lord day by day, that we may have the light of his
countenance upon us.
Brother Heber has been prophesying. You know that I call him my
Prophet, and he prophesies for me. And now I prophesy that, if this
people will live their religion, the God of heaven will fight their
battles, bring them off victorious over all their enemies, and give to
them the kingdom. That is my prophecy. I said amen to all that brother
Heber prophesied, for it is true; and he may say amen to all that I
prophesy, for it is also true.
I have no fears in regard to the kingdom of God upon the earth; but I
have fears lest this people be not prepared to receive glory, immortality,
and eternal lives, when those principles are presented to them. This is
all the fear that I have--that we will not walk up to our privileges and
be prepared for them.
I thank my Father in heaven,--yes, my soul says, Glory, hallelujah,
praise the name of Israel's God, for the blessings I enjoy at the present
time! One year ago this very day, and previous to that time, my soul was
pained within me. No tongue could tell--it could not be portrayed before
the people, the feelings that I had: I could not tell them; and I did not
know but that, if I should come out in the presence of the people and try
to speak my feelings, they would call me crazy. However, I tried to make
the people understand my feelings, but no tongue could tell them; and I
actually believe that I would have lived but a little time in this
existence, had not God waked up the people. I wanted to take up my valise
and go throughout the Territory crying, Is there a man in this Territory
for God?
If you want to know how I felt, I cannot tell you better than by
describing my feelings in the way that I am now doing. One day, I told a
number of the brethren how I felt, as well as I could; and brother
Jedediah M. Grant partook of the Spirit that was in me and walked out like
a man, like a giant, and like an angel, and he scattered the fire of the
Almighty among the people. But what was the result so far as he was
concerned? He went beyond his strength, and it cost him his life.
There is now scarcely a man but wants to do as God would have him do
among those who claim to be Latter-day Saints, except those four or five
that brother Heber speaks of; hence we hold a very large majority of that
class of men and women who desire to do precisely as God would have them,
and my heart says, God bless the people. God bless you, brethren and
sisters. I bless you all the time. You are near my heart, and it is all
my business to look after the welfare of the Saints. Remember that it
will be just as much as you and I can do to prepare to meet the Saviour
when he comes, no matter whether we previously go into the grave or not.
There has been a great deal said in the lower world about this little
handful of people; for you terrify the whole world! Not alone in the
United States, but in England, in France, in Italy, in Germany, and in
every State upon the eastern continent, the people are looking to see the
result of the present movements of our Government towards this people.
They are looking at the Gospel we preach, the course that we take, the
influence we are gaining, and the numbers we are gathering to us; and they
look at the subject not only in a religious point of view, but also in a
national capacity.
Brother Heber said to you, if the time has come, designed by the Lord
Almighty, for the thread to be cut between this people and the residue of
the world, then the Lord will suffer our enemies to clip the thread; and I
am with him in that sentiment But if the time is not come, the Lord will
not suffer them to come. If He designs that traffic should continue
between us and them, that we shall have the privilege of bringing our
immigration, of preaching the Gospel and saving the people, let me tell
you that they will not come; God will stop them.
As for myself, I would just as soon this was the time as any other.
If it is the time for the thread, in a national capacity, to be severed,
let it be severed. Amen to it. But I will tell you what I have
concluded: when we talk of gold, of silver, of riches, of the comforts of
this world, with me it is the kingdom of God, or nothing; with us it must
be the kingdom of God, or nothing. I shall not go in for anything
half-way. We must have the kingdom of God, or nothing. We are not to be
overthrown.
Cannot this kingdom be overthrown? No. They might as well try to
obliterate the sun. And I should suppose that an experience of twenty-six
years would have proven to the wicked that it could not be overthrown; but
it only wakes them up to anger and stirs them up to be more diligent in
their opposition to the righteous. They have been trying to break up this
people and destroy their organization, ever since we became a church; and
every time they try, their oppression forces us into greater note; they
increase our numbers and strengthen us in faith and in the knowledge and
power of God. And how long must they live before they can learn that such
has been and invariably will be the result? They will learn it when they
get into hell, and never before,--never till they get into the spirit
world; and then they will see that they have all the time been fighting
against God; and never till then will they learn it. You cannot teach
them anything.
Here are men who have been with us for six or seven years, and if
they had any good, common philosophical power, they would know that ours
is something different from any other authority and organization in the
world. The union and peace that are here are in no other place on the
face of the earth. Here are power and influence that are nowhere else on
earth. Among this people there is an intelligence that is nowhere else to
be found. Can darkness discover light? No; and even when it reflects
itself, they turn it away as a trifling affair, and that light which was
in them becomes darkness; and then greater is their darkness in the second
instance than in the first.
Some of this people apostatize. But do you think that any would
apostatize from the kingdom of God, if they knew that it was the kingdom
of God? No. Why do they apostatize? Because, through disobedience, that
little light they were in possession of is taken away, and they are left
to believe a lie that they may be damned. That is the reason why they go
away.
I say to this people, Do as you are told; and if you live by every
righteous principle that you can learn and forsake every evil principle
and act through your whole lives as becometh Saints of the Most High, all
will be well. Can men live so that they can have the serene, blessed,
calm, soft, soothing Spirit of the Lord always to abide with them? Yes,
they can. And if they are tempted, they can resist temptation. Can
women? They can. If they have temptation they can resist it, and it will
flee from them, and they will gain a victory.
So live, day by day, that your lives will be like an even spun
thread. Let there be no lying, no backbiting, no evil; but let the whole
life of every man and woman tend to good. Then, when they have their
failings, they will forgive each other, and will find the words of the
Saviour to be true, that his Spirit will be in them as a well of living
water springing up into everlasting life. Will they become prophets?
Yes, and prophetesses. Let them honour their religion until they pass the
ordeal, and they will reach the time when the Lord will never suffer them
to fall. There will be a time when the fountain of life is within them;
then they are prophets and prophetesses, and tell the truth all the time.
They walk no more in darkness, but in the light; and that is the privilege
of every man and woman.
Thank heaven that bickerings and contentions are lessening every year
among this people. Suppose that we all most strictly lived our religion,
would there be a hard word in this community? There would not. Do you
understand that? Never accuse a man or a woman of evil, until you find
out the cause. Never judge by the outward appearance, but judge righteous
judgment. And if persons who are striving to do good should happen to
commit an overt act, and are ready to restore to the uttermost, then that
would be the occasion of a feeling of kindness and affection towards them.
There is no reason for the people to do wrong, but there is everything to
encourage them to do right.
The brethren have had a good deal said to them this morning, but I
feel to bless the people; and I wish you to live nearer and nearer to the
Lord. Seek unto the Lord our God continually; seek to possess more of his
Spirit; throw off the power of erroneous traditions and of the evil
influences that were around us in our youthful days and before we came to
a knowledge of the truth. Learn the things of God, and you will find that
they are very different from the things of the world; you will find all
the plans and schemes of the world to be so different that you would
hardly suppose that they ever knew anything about the plan of salvation.
Also remember to lay up your grain. Brother Heber has been preaching
to you about that; therefore remember to lay up sufficient for your
families. Sow your grain early this fall. Many wish to know whether I
think we shall reap. I do not care whether we do or not. I intend to sow
early this fall, so that it will ripen next season. How bad we should
feel, if we did not sow, and all should be peace and safety next season,
to know that we could have harvested if we had sown. I reckon that I
should feel bad, if I were placed in such a condition; but I will prepare
for the people to live so long as they dwell upon the earth.
What more will I prepare for? I will prepare for a fight, I will
prepare for peace, and I will also prepare for everything that comes
along; then I am ready for anything. Build? Yes, build, and make your
homes as comfortable as you can.
If I knew that I was going to burn all my buildings next season, it
would not hinder me for one hour from making improvements. The more I do,
the more I shall be prepared to do. And I am determined to prepare to lay
up the walls of Zion and to learn all I can, so that, if I should happen
to be one of the men to engage in that work, I shall know how to commence
and dictate the foundation of the walls of Zion and those of the Temple.
A great many think that we have been extravagant in laying so broad
and deep a foundation for this Temple; but I would rather have that
foundation, though it should lay as it is till the Millennium, than to
have the most splendid superstructure built upon a sandy foundation. What
do you say, you men and women of judgment? [Voices, "You are correct."]
Is there not more honour in that foundation, though it lay there till we
go back to Jackson County, than there would be in such a building as I
have named?
About two weeks ago, Elder Hyde began to say, "There is no knowing
where;" and I took the words from his mouth and continued, "The Latter-day
Saints will land in Jackson County, Missouri."
The Lord has suffered the wicked to drive us about, that we might
accomplish his designs the sooner. Some of you sisters are afraid of
cousin Lemuel; and some say that our enemies are bringing presents to
bribe cousin Lemuel. Let them bring and let them bribe, and then, if the
time has come, when they have got through bribing, cousin Lemuel will turn
round and take the rest.
God is at the helm. This is the mighty ship Zion. You stick to the
ship, and honour it, and see that you are in favour with the ship Zion,
and you need not worry about anything else. God has the hearts of the
children of men in his hands; he puts hooks in their jaws and turns them
about at His pleasure. God is here; the Holy Ghost is here and rests
upon this people, and I am a witness to it. I know that the Holy Ghost
dwells in the hearts of this people; and the world are afraid of the union
that exists upon this people. They were afraid of that in the days of
Joseph, and it has been their fear all the time. You might take a
democrat, a Republican, a ranting Methodist, and old, stiff-necked,
ranting Presbyterian; and when they came to consider Joseph Smith and the
Saints, they saw that they were one in faith, and it scared them all.
They would say, "We are Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians, but we
are of different politics; in our churches may be found all kinds of
politics, but you, Joseph Smith, alter men's politics; you change them and
make them all one.
Brethren and sisters, do not be angry with them, for they are in the
hands of God. Instead of feeling a spirit to punish them, or anything
like wrath, you live your religion; and you will see the day when you will
pray God to turn away from your eyes the sight of their afflictions.
There are thousands and millions in the United States, and in the
world, whose hearts are like an aspen leaf because of this little handful
of people in Utah. Pity them; for they know not whom they are fighting
against; they know not their destiny.
This army that is reported to be coming to this place know no more
about you and me than you know about the interior of China: they go
because they are sent. If they knew our real character, the soldiers
themselves would turn round and tell their officers to go to hell; they
would take a stampede, and if their officers urged them to come and fight
this people, they would turn round upon them or tell them to do it
themselves.
Now, do not feel angry. Are not they to be pitied? Yes. Are you to
be pitied? Yes, if you forsake God, or your religion. The Saints need to
be pitied for nothing but for forsaking their religion. Be careful that
you do not get darkness into your minds.
May God bless you. Amen.
RETURN OF THOMAS B. MARSH TO THE CHURCH.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, introducing Brother Thomas B.
Marsh, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City,
on Sunday, September 6th, 1857.
Brother Thomas B. Marsh, formerly the President of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, has now come to us, after an absence of nearly nineteen
years. He is on the stand to-day, and wishes to make a few remarks to the
congregation.
You will comprehend the purport of the remarks he wishes to make, by
my relating a part of his conversation with me yesterday. He came into my
office and wished to know whether I could be reconciled to him, and
whether there could be a reconciliation between himself and the Church of
the living God. He reflected for a moment and said, I am reconciled to
the Church, but I want to know whether the Church can be reconciled to me.
He is here, and I want him to say what he may wish to. [Brother
Marsh then arose, and the President continued.] Brethren and sisters, I
now introduce to you brother Thomas B. Marsh. When the Quorum of the
Twelve was first organized, he was appointed to be their President.
FURTHER REMARKS BY PRESIDENT
BRIGHAM YOUNG.
A portion of the congregation have heard what brother Marsh has said;
but he spoke so low that you could not all hear. He wants to know whether
this people are willing to receive him into full fellowship. When he came
to Florence, he applied to brother Cunningham, who was then presiding
there, for baptism. Brother Cunningham at first refused to baptise him,
probably thinking that it would be better for him to wait till he came to
this place; but he afterwards gave his consent to brother Marsh's being
baptised. Brother Marsh now wishes to be received into full fellowship,
and to be again baptised here.
There are many here who have formerly been acquainted with him--with
his moral character, and they can judge as well as myself. Those who are
not acquainted with him will be willing to coincide with the judgment of
those who once knew him.
I shall call a vote, to ascertain whether the people are willing that
he should be baptised into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, and be acknowledged a member in full fellowship. I wish those who
are willing to receive brother Marsh into full fellowship as a member in
this Church and kingdom to manifest it by the uplifted hand. [All hands
appeared to be raised.] If there are any who are not willing, they now
have the privilege of manifesting it by the uplifted hand. [Not a hand was
raised.]
Brother Marsh, I think that will be satisfactory to you.
[T. B. Marsh: "It is, and I thank God for it."]
I presume that brother Marsh will take no offence if I talk a little
about him. We have manifested our feelings towards him, and we know his
situation. With regard to this Church's being reconciled to him, I can
say that this Church and people were never dissatisfied with him; for when
men and women apostatize and go from us, we have nothing to do with them.
If they do that which is evil, they will suffer for it. Brother Marsh has
suffered. He told me, yesterday, that the Christians might hang up their
fiddle in regard to there being no Catholic Tophet or Purgatory.
You are aware that the children of the Mother Church have dissented
from the idea of there being such a place as Purgatory; but brother Marsh
says that there is such a place, and that he has been in it during the
past eighteen years and upwards. I asked him whether he did not have to
pray himself out. He answered, "Yes." I then remarked--If you prayed
yourself out, I suppose you saved the priests' fees. "Yes," he said; "It
did not cost me a cent of money." However, it cost him a great deal of
labour, trouble, and pain.
In conversing with brother Marsh, I find that he is about the same
Thomas that he always was--full of anecdotes and chit-chat. He could
hardly converse for ten minutes without telling an anecdote. His voice
and style of conversation are familiar to me.
He has told you that he is an old man. Do you think that I am an old
man? I could prove to this congretion [sic] that I am young; for I could
find more girls who would choose me for a husband than can any of the
young men.
Brother Thomas considers himself very aged and infirm, and you can
see that he is, brethren and sisters. What is the cause of it? He left
the Gospel of salvation. What do you think the difference is between his
age and mine? One year and seven months to a day; and he is one year,
seven months, and fourteen days older than brother Heber C. Kimball.
"Mormonism" keeps men and women young and handsome; and when they are
full of the Spirit of God, there are none of them but what will have a
glow upon their countenances; and that is what makes you and me young; for
the Spirit of God is with us and within us.
When brother Thomas thought of returning to the Church, the plurality
of wives troubled him a good deal. Look at him. Do you think it need to?
I do not; for I doubt whether he could get one wife. Why it should have
troubled an infirm old man like him is not for me to say. He read brother
Orson Pratt's work upon that subject, and discovered that the doctrine was
beautiful, consistent, and exalting, and that the kingdom could not be
perfect without it. Neither can it be perfect without a great many things
that the people do not yet understand, though they will come in the own
due time of the Lord.
As I have but a few minutes for speaking, I will relate a little of
the current news of the day.
On Friday evening, the 11th inst., two of the brethren who
accompanied brothers Samuel W. Richards and George Snider from Deer Creek
to 118 miles below Laramie, came in, and reported that soldiers and a
heavy freight train were there encamped opposite to them and on the south
side of the Platte. They could tell that they were soldiers, from the
appearance of their carriages, waggons, tents, and mode of encampment. We
did not learn anything very definite from these two brethren lately
arrived.
Messrs. Russel and Waddle are freighting for Government, and some of
their trains were scattered along to the Sweetwater. They have twenty-six
waggons in each train, with a teamster and six yoke of oxen to a waggon.
Some of those trains were on the Sweetwater when brother Samuel passed
down, and quite a number of them are in advance of the soldiers. The
brethren learned that Captain Van Vliet, Assistant Quartermaster, was
coming on to purchase lumber and such things as might be needed for the
army.
Last evening, brother John R. Murdock arrived direct from St. Louis.
He left here with the mail on the 2nd day of July, and reached
Independence in sixteen days, making by far the shortest trip on record,
and in eighteen days-and-a-half from here landed in St. Louis. He tarried
there till brother Horace S. Eldredge and brother Groesbeck had transacted
some business, and then started up the river with a small train. On the
9th of August, brother Murdock left Atchison, K. T. Troubles were daily
expected to break out in Kansas between the Republican, or Free State, and
the pro-slavery parties; for which reason General Harney, with the
cavalry, a portion of the infantry, and, I think, one or two companies of
the Artillery, were detained there by orders from Washington, and Colonel
Johnson ordered to assume the command of the army for Utah.
Some fifteen or sixteen hundred infantry started from Leavenworth;
and when brother Murdock passed them, one hundred miles below Laramie,
about five hundred had deserted, leaving, as he was told, about one
thousand men on their way to this place. He passed a few freight trains,
which were entirely deserted by the teamsters, and Russel and Waddle were
not able to hire teamsters to bring those trains forward.
Brother Murdock did not think that they could get here this fall,
unless we helped them in. Their teams are pretty good, but they are very
much jaded. Their mule teams are in better condition, because they
regularly feed them on grain.
From the time that I heard that the President of the United States
had issued orders for soldiers to come here, they have had my best faith
that the Lord would not let them get here. I have seen this people, when
palsied with agues, fevers, and with various other diseases, hurled out of
doors, driven away from their cellars full of potatoes, from their meal
chests, from their cows, houses, barns, orchards, fields, and finally from
their happy homes and all the comforts of life. I have seen that a good
many times, and I pray that I may never see it again, unless it is
absolutely necessary for the welfare and advancement of God's purposes on
the earth. I want to see no more suffering. I will not use the word
suffering, for I call it joy instead of sorrow, affliction, and suffering.
If we live our religion and exercise faith, it is our firm belief that it
is our right to so exercise our united faith that our enemies never can
come here, unless the Lord in his providence sees that it will be for our
good.
It is my faith and feelings that, if we live as we should live, they
cannot come here; but I am decided in my opinion that, if worse comes to
worst, and the Lord permits them to come upon us, I will desolate this
whole Territory before I will again submit to the hellish corruption and
bondage the wicked are striving to thrust upon us solely for our
exercising our right of freedom of conscience.
I will say, in reference to President Buchanan, that, for his
outrageous wickedness in this movement, he shall wear the yoke as long as
he lives; he shall be led about by his party with the yoke on his neck,
until they have accomplished their ends, and he can do no more for them;
and his name shall be forgotten; and "Old Bright," as brother Kimball
calls him, shall be free. I am persuaded that for their horrible, wicked
treatment to this people--the only loyal people in the United States--the
only people who know the worth of the Constitution--they will be sorely
punished.
After doing what they already have done to this people--after sending
among us the filth and scum of all creation (as some of the officers were)
as officers of the Government, contrary to the genius of our institutions,
I want to tell them that, though they continue to send poor pusillanimous
curses here to be Government officers, we will not submit to it, troops or
no troops. I shall tell them this in plainness and simplicity; and they
shall find that in my simplicity I will try to sustain so righteous a
position. And I believe that the point is yielded, both in Europe and
America; and I believe they acknowledge that Brigham is a man of his word;
and I have come to the conclusion that we will not again have officers
thrust upon us contrary to our consent, the Lord helping us.
When brother Murdock left St. Louis, Mr. Cummings, the person who had
received the appointment of Governor of Utah, was going to Washington, and
he could not learn that there was one of the Territorial officers with the
soldiers: hence I do not see but that I shall have to again preside over
our Legislative Assembly this winter. I do not see that it can be
otherwise; and William H. Hooper will be Secretary, just as he was last
winter. They have refused to pay the expenses of the last Assembly and
other just debts due to this Territory; but God will overrule those things
for our good and the advancement of his kingdom, if we live our religion.
Our enemies will yet be glad to come to us for safety and salvation;
and we will do as brother Kimball has said--we will save the old veteran
fathers; and the time will come when we will be baptised for them, while
those who trample upon the rights of their fellow men will be weltering in
hell. Yes, we will bring up those old revolutionary sires and save them;
for God loves men who are true to each other and are true to him.
If any want to apostatize, I want them to look at brother Marsh. I
wish you could all see and understand what he has suffered. He has
suffered a little; and I could tell you a good deal of the suffering
induced by the weaknesses of men.
When the Quorum of the Twelve was first chosen, Lyman Johnson's name
was called first, Brigham Young's second, Heber C. Kimball's third, and so
on. I had seen brother Marsh and others who were nominated for the Quorum
of the Twelve, and I looked upon them as men of great powers of mind--as
men of ability--men who understood the things of heaven. I looked upon
them as angels, and I looked up to them just as my children look up to me.
I considered brother Marsh a great man; but as soon as I became
acquainted with him, I saw that the weakness of the flesh was visibly
manifest in him. I saw that he was ignorant and shattered in his
understanding, if ever he had good understanding. He manifests the same
weakness to-day. Has he the stability of a sound mind? No, and never
had. And if he had good sense and judgment, he would not have spoken as
he has. He has just said, "I will be faithful, and I will be true to
you." He has not wisdom enough to see that he has betrayed us once, and
don't know but what he will again. He has told me that he would be
faithful, and that he would do this and the other; but he don't know what
he will do next week or next year.
I do not know what I shall do next year; I always speak for the
present. But a man that will be once fooled by the Devil--a man that has
not sense to discern between steel grey mixed and iron grey mixed, when
one is dyed with logwood and the other with indigo, may be deceived again.
You never heard me say that I was going to be true to my God; for I know
too much of human weakness: but I pray God to preserve me from falling
away--to preserve me in the truth. I depend not upon myself; for I know
too much of human weakness and of myself, to indulge in such remarks.
I derive strength from a superior source. I have been drinking from
that source for many years; and, as I told you last sabbath, I have been
trying to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And, if we are faithful, we will
all be counted worthy to be his disciples. God bless you! Amen.
THE UNITED STATES' ADMINISTRATION AND UTAH ARMY.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, September 13, 1857.
Before the meeting closes, I want to make a few remarks. My feelings
are so complicated that I want to say a few words, and I do not want to; I
want to talk, and I do not want to talk. You recollect hearing one of the
Elders state upon the stand, not long since, that he came into the Church
mad, and had been mad ever since. And I am too angry this morning to
preach.
I have been in this kingdom a good while--twenty-five years and
upwards, and I have been driven from place to place; my brethren have been
driven, my sisters have been driven; we have been scattered and peeled,
and every time without any provocation upon our part, only that we were
united, obedient to the laws of the land, and striving to worship God.
Mobs repeatedly gathered against this people, but they never had any power
to prevail until Governors issued their orders and called out a force
under the letter of the law, but breaking the spirit, to hold the
"Mormons" still while infernal scamps cut their throats. I have had all
that before me through the night past, and it makes me too angry to
preach. Also to see that we are in a Government whose administrators are
always trying to injure us, while we are constantly at the defiance of all
hell to prove any just grounds for their hostility against us; and yet
they are organizing their forces to come here, and protect infernal scamps
who are anxious to come and kill whom they please, destroy whom they
please, and finally exterminate the "Mormons."
I did not arrive till late; and brother Taylor was then preaching
upon this subject, and I was glad of it. He has taught you good
principles. This people are free; they are not in bondage to any
government on God's footstool. We have transgressed no law, and we have
no occasion to do so, neither do we intend to; but as for any nation's
coming to destroy this people, God Almighty being my helper, they cannot
come here. [The congregation responded by a loud Amen.] That is my
feeling upon that point.
On the 24th of July last, a number of us went to Big Cottonwood
Kanyon, to pass the anniversary of our arrival into this Valley. Ten
years ago the 24th of July last, a few of the Elders arrived here, and
began to plough and to pant seeds, to raise food to sustain themselves.
Whist speaking to the brethren on that day, I said, inadvertently, If the
people of the United States will let us alone for ten years, we will ask
no odds of them; and ten years from that very day, we had a message by
brothers Smoot, Stoddard, and Rockwell, that the Government had stopped
the mail, and that they had ordered 2,500 troops to come here and hold the
"Mormons" still, while priests, politicians, speculators, whoremongers,
and every mean, filthy character that could be raked up should come here
and kill off the "Mormons," I did not think about what I had said ten
years ago, till I heard that the President of the United States had so
unjustly ordered troops here; and then I said, when my former expression
came to my mind, In the name of Israel's God, we ask no odds of them.
I do not often get angry; but when I do, I am righteously angry; and
the bosom of the Almighty burns with anger towards those scoundrels; and
they shall be consumed, in the name of Israel's God. We have borne enough
of their oppression and hellish abuse, and we will not bear any more of
it; for there is no just law requiring further forbearance on our part.
And I am not going to have troops here to protect the priests and a
hellish rabble in efforts to drive us from the land we possess; for the
Lord does not want us to be driven, and has said, "if you will assert your
rights, and keep my commandments, you shall never again be brought into
bondage by your enemies."
The officer in command of the United States' army, on its way to
Utah, detailed one of his staff, Captain Van Vliet, who is now on the
stand, to come here and earn whether he could procure the necessary
supplies for the army. Many of you are already aware of this, and some of
you have been previously acquainted with the Captain. Captain Van Vliet
visited us in Winter Quarters (now Florence); and, if I remember
correctly, he was then officiating as Assistant-Quartermaster. He is
again in our midst in the capacity of Assistant-Quartermaster. From the
day of his visit to Winter Quarters, many of this people have become
personally acquainted with him, both through casual intercourse with and
working for him. He has invariably treated them kindly, as he would a
Baptist, a Methodist, or any other person; for that is his character. He
has always been found to be free and frank, and to be a man that wishes to
do right; and no doubt he would deal out justice to all, if he had the
power. Many of you have laboured for him, and found him to be a kind,
good man; and I understand that he has much influence in the army, through
his kind treatment to the soldiers. He treats them as human beings, while
there are those who treat them worse than brute beasts.
Well, the enquiry is, "What is the news? What is the conclusion?"
It is this--We have to trust in God. I am not in the least concerned as
to the result, if we put our trust in God. The administrators of our
Government have issued orders for marching troops and expending much
treasure, and all predicated upon falsehoods, while every honourable man
would have first made an economical and peaceful enquiry into the
circumstances. And even now, every honourable man would use all his
influence to avert the present unjust and entirely groundless movement
against us; but Captains, Majors, Colonels, and other subordinate officers
have not the power. Wicked persons, solely for the accomplishment of
their unhallowed schemes, have had the power to array the Government
against us, through their lying and misrepresentation; but citizens,
unorganized into cliques and parties, no matter how good their intentions
and wishes, have not the power to avert the bow when the Administration of
our Government is arrayed against us, unless they will also unite against
the few well-organized scoundrels who are plundering our treasury and fast
urging our country to dissolution. We have got to protect ourselves by
the strength of our God. Do not be concerned in the least with regard to
all the affairs that are before you; for we shall live and grow finely, as
said a certain woman, who weighed but two pounds when an infant, and was
put in a quart cup. Upon being asked whether she lived, "O yes," she
said, "I lived and grew finely." It will also be said of the Latter-day
Saints, "They lived and grew finely."
You are taught from Sabbath to Sabbath what to do; and if you do
that, all will be well. There is only one thing to fear, and that is,
that you will not be faithful to the kingdom of God. We have that
kingdom; and it will spread its balmy wings over thousands and millions
who have not yet heard the Gospel, and they will find Israel to be "the
head, and not the tail."
What is the cause of the hostile feeling against this people?
Brother Taylor has been telling you. God has restored the Gospel of
salvation to earth again. That unites the hearts of the people, brings
together those of different nations, notwithstanding their various
traditions and their different manners and customs, and makes them of one
heart and of one mind. And what follows? All hell is moved against them,
because the kingdoms of this world--the kingdoms of darkness--are in
danger. A hell is moved against this people, because we are of one heart
and of one mind.
The faith of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is calculated to unite the
people in one, and to bring them back to the unity and faith of those who
obeyed the Gospel anciently, and finally to bring them back to glory.
Then do you wonder that all the sects of the day are enraged against us?
I have told you that I do not wonder; neither do I wonder that governors
and rulers are enraged at our success. Are there any Democrats, any
Whigs, any Methodists, any Baptists, or anything like the parties and
sects of the day among us? No. What is there? Those who want to do the
will of their Father in heaven; and when they can know his will, their
faith is one, their hope is one, and they are one in all things.
It is not alone the United States that is in fear because of the
union that exists with this people, but all Europe trembles this day in
consequence of the faith there is here. Some may think that it is not so;
but I know more about the United States than men do who come here direct
from Washington. I red their history and their feelings every day. You
need not think that the world are not opposed to us--you need not think
that politicians are not opposed to us, for they are.
We have sent a delegate to Congress during the past six years, and
has there ever been an opposing vote in his election? No. The people
only want to know who the right man is, and then they will support him.
Dr. Bernhisel is our delegate; and has it cost him thousands of dollars to
gain his election? No; it has not cost him a singe dollar; no, not so
much as a red cent. We think that he is the most suitable man for us to
send to Washington, and we say, "Let us send him," and he is unanimously
elected. And if we had a thousand officers to elect--if we had to elect
the President of the United States, you would never see a dissenting vote.
Parties in our Government have no better idea than to think the
republic stands all the firmer upon opposition; but I say that it is not
so. A republican Government consists in letting the people rule by their
united voice, without a dissension,--in learning what is for the best, and
unitedly doing it. That is true republicanism.
Do not be angry. I will permit you to be as angry as I am. Do not
get so angry that you cannot pray: do not allow yourselves to become so
angry that you cannot feed an enemy--even your worst enemy, if an
opportunity should present itself. There is a wicked anger, and there is
a righteous anger. The Lord does not suffer wicked anger to be in his
heart; but there is anger in his bosom, and he will hold a controversy
with the nations, and will sift them, and no power can stay his hand.
The Government of our country will go by the board through its own
corruptions, and no power can save it. If we can avert the bow for
another season, it is probable that our enemies will have enough to attend
to at home, without worrying the Latter-day Saints. Have faith, and all
will be well with us. I would like this people to have faith enough to
turn away their enemies. I have prayed fervently about this matter; for
it has been said that the troops would come: but I have said that, if my
faith will prevent it, they shall not come. If God will turn them
whithersoever he will, so that they do not come here, I shall be perfectly
satisfied. But another man steps up, and says to the one that prays for
our enemies to be turned away, "Brother, you are a coward; damn them, let
them come, for I want fight to them." Herein you perceive a conflict in
our faith; and that should not be. If there was a perfect union of our
faith, our enemies could never cross the Rocky Mountains; or, if they
undertook to come some other way, they never could cross the Sierra Nevada
Mountains, nor the Basin Rim, on our north, nor the deserts at the south.
But, says one, "I want to fight." Do all such persons know that they are
not right? If they will examine their hearts, they will find a wicked
anger and a malice there; and they cannot get into the kingdom of God with
those feelings.
Learn to control yourselves; earn to be in the hands of God as clay
in the hands of the potter; and if he will turn our enemies away, praised
be his name. But if it should become a duty to take the sword, let us do
it, manfully and in the strength of Israel's God. Then one will chase a
thousand, and two will put ten thousand to flight." The day will be in
which a man will go out and say to an army of a hundred thousand men, "Do
thus, and so, or we are upon you;" and they will hear the rumbling of
chariots and the rushing of troops, as in the days of Elijah.
You recollect of a Prophet's telling what bread and meal should be
sold for in a straitened city the following day. The enemy thought that
there were millions of the Israelites after them, for they heard the
rolling of chariot-wheels, the clashing of armour, and the trampling of
horses, and they fled. The Prophet had told the king that he would be
trodden to death in the gate, and he was; and a measure of meal was sold
in the city for a penny, in fulfilment of the word of the Lord. The
doctrines of salvation are the same now as they were in the days of Adam,
or Elijah, or Jesus, when he was upon the earth.
While brother Taylor was speaking of the sectarian world, it occurred
to my mind that the wicked do not know any more than the dumb brutes,
comparatively speaking; but it is our business to hunt up and gather out
all the honest portion of the nations of the earth, and give them
salvation. We may very properly say that the sectarian world do not know
anything correctly, so far as pertains to salvation. Ask them where
heaven is?--where they are going to when they die?--where Paradise
is?--and there is not a priest in the world that can answer your
questions. Ask them what kind of a being our Heavenly Father is, and they
cannot tell you so much as Balaam's ass told him. They are more ignorant
than children.
We have the knowledge of those things; and we have the greatest
reason to be thankful of any people upon the face of the earth. If others
ought to do right, we more. Be full of love and compassion to your
fellowbeings, full of kindness, such as human beings can possess, for that
is our business. The only business that we have on hand is to build up
the kingdom of God and prepare the way of the Son of Man.
If you do your duty in this respect, you need not be afraid of mobs,
nor of forces sent out in violation of the very genius of our free
institutions, holding you till mobs kill you. Mobs? Yes; for where is
there the least particle of authority, either in our Constitution or laws,
for sending troops here, or even for appointing civil officers contrary to
the voluntary consent of the governed? We came here without any help from
our enemies, and we intend to stay as long as we please.
They say that their army is legal, and I say that such a statement is
as false as hell, and that they are as rotten as an old pumpkin that has
been frozen seven times and then melted in a harvest sun. Come on with
your thousands of illegally-ordered troops, and I will promise you, in the
name of Israel's God, that you shall melt away as the snow before a July
sun.
There is one thing that I want, for the satisfaction of Captain Van
Vliet. One of our old senators, Stephen A. Douglas, recently said before
his constituents in Illinois, that nine-tenths of our people were aliens.
We have a larger proportion of foreigners in this city than in any other
part of the Territory, and there are a good many here to-day who have just
come in from the Plains. I want those who are native born and naturalized
American citizens to raise their right hands. [Over two-thirds of the
congregation raised their hands.] You who have not yet received your
naturalization papers will please manifest it in the same way. [Less than
a third of the congregation raised their hands.] Now, Captain, you can
see for yourself that over two-thirds of this congregation are either
native born or naturalized American citizens.
I have called this vote that Captain Van Vliet may be able to do as
he always does--speak the truth boldly, and tell them of it next winter in
Washington; and that he can, if he sees Senator Douglas in Washington,
tell him that his statement was false, for he has seen for himself.
If it were any use, I would ask whether there is ONE person in this
congregation who wants to go to the United States; but I know that I
should not find any. But I will pledge myself that if there is a man,
woman, or child that wants to go back to the States, if they will pay
their debts, and not steal anything, they can go; and if they are poor and
honest, we will help them to go. That has been my well-known position all
the time.
Brother Taylor has said that he bantered the United States for a
trade, and promised them that if they would send all to Utah that wanted
to come, we would send all to the States that wanted to go. We would get
our thousands to their one, if they would make that trade. But no--they
must keep on lying, howling, and trying to oppress and kill the innocent.
When some want away last spring, I told them to go in peace, and they
did so. What are they doing now? Many of them are struggling to get
back, and the rest are wishing that they had never left here. It is a
kind of dear business to apostatize every year. I would rather stick to
the old ship Zion.
When I was written to in Nauvoo by the President of the United
States, through another person, enquiring, "Where are you going, Mr.
Young?" I replied that I did not know where we should land. We had men
in England trying to negotiate for Vancouver's Island, and we sent a
shipload of Saints round Cape Horn to California. Men in authority asked,
"Where are you going to?" "We may go to California, or to Vancouver's
Island." When the Pioneer company reached Green River, we met Samuel
Brannan and a few others from California, and they wanted us to go there.
I remarked, "Let us go to California, and we cannot stay there over five
years; but let us stay in the mountains, and we can raise our own
potatoes, and eat them; and I calculate to stay here." We are still on
the backbone of the animal, where the bone and the sinew are, and we
intend to stay here, and all hell cannot help themselves.
We are not to be persecuted as we have been. We can say, "Come as a
mob, and we can sweeten you up right suddenly." They never did anything
against Joseph till they had ostensibly legalized a mob; and I shall treat
every army and every armed company that attempts to come here as a mob.
[The congregation responded, "Amen."] You might as well tell me that you
can make hell into a powder-house as to tell me that you could let an army
in here and have peace; and I intend to tell them and show them this, if
they do not keep away. By taking this course, you will find that every
man and woman feels happy, and they say, "All is right, all is well;" and
I say that our enemies shall not slip the bow on "Old Bright's neck"
again.
God bless you. Amen.
MOVEMENTS OF THE SAINTS' ENEMIES.--THE CRISIS.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, September 13, 1857.
A would like very well to hear some of the rest of the brethren
speak, if I had entirely got over being angry and had patience to sit and
hear. I think, however, that I shall be able to calm and control my
feelings, though I do not expect to become entirely settled until the
affairs around me are settled.
It is a pretty bold stand for this people to take, to say that they
will not be controlled by the corrupt administrators of our General
Government. We will be controlled by them, if they will be controlled by
the Constitution and laws; but they will not. Many of them do not care
any more about the Constitution and the laws that they make than they do
about the laws of another nation. That class trample the rights of the
people under their feet, while there are also many who would like to
honour them. All we have ever asked for is our constitutional rights. We
wish the laws of our Government honoured, and we have ever honoured them;
but they are trampled under foot by administrators.
There cannot be a more damnable, dastardly order issued than was
issued by the Administration to this people while they were in an Indian
country, in 1846. Before we left Nauvoo, not less than two United States'
senators came to receive a pledge from us that we would leave the United
States; and then, while we were doing our best to leave their borders, the
poor, low, degraded curses sent a requisition for five hundred of our men
to go and fight their battles! That was President Polk; and he is now
weltering in hell with old Zachary Taylor, where the present
administrators will soon be, if they do not repent.
Liars have reported that this people have committed treason; and upon
their lies, the President has ordered out troops to aid in officering this
Territory: and if those officers are like many who have previously been
sent here, (and we have reason to believe that they are, or they would not
come when they know they are not wanted,) they are poor, miserable
blacklegs, brokendown political hacks, robbers, and whoremongers--men that
are not fit for civilized society; so they must dragoon them upon us for
officers. I feel that I won't bear such cursed treatment, and that is
enough to say; for we are just as free as the mountain air.
I do not lift my voice against the great and glorious Government
guaranteed to every citizen by our Constitution, but against those corrupt
administrators who trample the Constitution and just laws under their
feet. They care no more about them than they do about the Government of
France; but they walk them under their feet with impunity. And the most
of the characters they have sent here as officers cared no more about the
laws of our country and of this Territory than they did about the laws of
China, but walked them under their feet with all the recklessness of
despots.
I do not want to be angry, nor to have my feelings wrought up; but I
cannot keep quiet under the continued outrageous tyranny of the wicked.
I have said that if the brethren will have faith, the Lord will fight
our battles, and we will have the privilege of living here in peace. I
have counted the cost to this people of a collision with our enemies; but
I cannot begin to count the cost it will be to them.
I have told you that if this people will live their religion, all
will be well; and I have told you that if there is any man or woman that
is not willing to destroy anything and everything of their property that
would be of use to an enemy, if left, I wanted them to go out of the
Territory; and I again say so to-day; for when the time comes to burn and
lay waste our improvements, if any man undertakes to shield his, he will
be sheared down; for "judgment will be laid to the line and righteousness
to the plummet." Now the fait-hearted can go in peace; but should that
time come, they must not interfere. Before I will suffer what I have in
times gone by, there shall not be one building, nor one foot of lumber,
nor a stick, nor a tree, nor a particle of grass and hay, that will burn,
left in reach of our enemies. I am sworn, if driven to extremity, to
utterly lay waste, in the name of Israel's God.
I know that the Saints, both the brethren and sisters, pay that our
enemies may not come here; for their entrance is designed by our
Government to be the prelude to the introduction of abominations and
death. And you cannot talk to a brother, or even to a sister, but that
she will tell you that, if she consents in her feelings to have our
enemies come here, she feels uncomfortable, and her heart sinks within
her. If I consent in my feelings to have them come here, my heart sinks
within me, my buoyant spirits are gone, and I have no comfort; for I know
the hellish designs concealed under the present movement. But we are
free, and every man says, "Stand by the kingdom." When this is the case,
every man is like a troop; they are like lions.
Admit of corrupt administrators sending troops here, and what would
be the result? All hell would follow after. I naturally dislike to have
any trouble, and would not, were I not obliged to; but we are obliged to
defend ourselves against the persecution of our oppressors, or have our
constitutional rights rent from us, and have ourselves destroyed. We must
either suffer that, or stand up and maintain the kingdom of God on the
earth.
We have known all the time that the kingdoms of darkness were opposed
to the kingdom of God--that the powers of earth and hell were combined
against it. Christ and Baal cannot make friends with each other: you
cannot mix oil and water, righteousness and wickedness. This is the
kingdom of God; all others are of Devil. They never can be united in this
world, nor in any other: there is no possibility of the two kingdoms
becoming one. Those who believe and obey the Gospel of the Son of God,
and forsake all for its interests, belong to the kingdom of God, and all
the rest belong to the other kingdom. There is a distinction, and the
line must be drawn; and you and I have to stand up to it, even though it
may take from us our right eyes and right hands. We must stand up to the
line and maintain the kingdom of God, or we will all go to destruction
together.
I am perfectly willing that the brethren should stop all
improvements, if they choose, and spend a few years in seeing what our
enemies will do; though their efforts against us will only tend to use
them up the faster. If the people prefer it, they may stop their
improvements and take care of their wheat, and cache a supply of grain,
flour, &c., where no other persons can find it; though we can raise train
here all the time,--yes, all the time.
Suppose that our enemies send 50,000 troops here, they will have to
transport all that will be requisite to sustain them over one winter; for
I will promise them, before they come, that there shall not be one
particle of forage, nor one mouthful of food for them, should they come.
They will have to bring all their provisions and forage; and though they
start their teams with as heavy loads as they can draw, there is no team
that can bring enough to sustain itself, to say nothing of the men. If
there were no more men here than there are in the Seminole nation, our
enemies never could use us up; but they could use up themselves, which
they will do. The Seminoles--a little tribe of a few hundred in
Florida--have cost our government, I suppose, in the neighbourhood of
100,000,000 dollars; and they are no nearer being conquered than when the
war commenced. And what few have removed have been induced to do so by
compromise; and it would be far cheapest for the Government to pay the
debts they honestly owe us, and leave us unmolested in the peaceful
enjoyment of our rights.
Would not our enemies feel well in going to the kanyons for wood the
first night to cook their suppers with? The idea puts me in mind of an
anecdote told by one Brown about the man who took the first barrel of
whisky up the Missouri river on a log-raft.
They might stay amid blackened desolation till they had ate up what
they had brought, and then they would have to go back.
It has been asked, "Have you counted the cost?" Yes, for ourselves;
but I cannot begin to count it for our enemies. It will cost them all
they have in this world, and will land them in hell in the world to come,
while the only trouble with us is that we have two or three times more men
than we need for using up all who can come here to deprive us of our
rights.
As I said this morning, ten years ago on this ground I stated that we
would not ask any odds of our enemies in ten years from that date; and the
next time that I thought of it was ten years afterwards to a day. "They
are now sending their troops" was the news; and it directly occurred to
me, "Will you ask any odds of them?" No; in the name of Israel's God we
will not; for as soon as we ask odds, we get ends--of bayonets. When we
have asked them for bread, they have given us stones; and when we have
asked them for meat, they have given us scorpions; and what is the use in
asking any more? I do not ask any odds of those who are striving to
deprive us of every vestige of freedom and to destroy us from the earth.
Suppose that we should now bow down, and they should order their
troops back, and then send a Governor and other officers here, how long
would it be before some miserable scamp would get into a fuss with the
Indians in Utah County, or in some other county, and get killed? Then the
Governor would order out the Militia--probably two or three hundred
men--to kill off those Indians. Well, the brethren, knowing that the
aggressor is a white man, do not want to turn out and, like Gen. Harney,
kill the squaws; and they say, "We shall not go." Then the Governor would
say, "They have committed treason;" and it would be, "Send an army here,
and shoot and hang them." Our enemies are determined to bring us into
collision with the Government, so that they can kill us; but they shall
not come here.
If the troops are now this side of Laramie, remember that the
Sweetwater is this side of that place. They must have some place to
winter, for they cannot come through here this season. We could go out
and use them up, and it would not require fifty men to do it. But
probably we shall not have occasion to take that course, for we do not
want to kill men. They may winter in peace at some place east of us; but
when spring comes, they must go back to the States, or, at any rate, they
must leave the mountains.
We have no desire to kill men, but we wish to keep the devils from
killing us. If you hear that they are near the upper crossing of the
Platte, they will probably stay there till they can collect 50.000 troops.
We will say that 9 and 3 equal 17; and if that is so, how long will it
take to get those troops here? Let an arithmetician figure out how long
it will be before 9 and 3 will make 17; for that will just be as soon as
our enemies will get 50,000 troops here.
We have got to be called treasoners by our enemies. Joseph was taken
up six times, if I remember rightly, on the charge of treason. Once he
was brought into court by some enemies who thought they could prove that
he had committed adultery, and that they termed treason. At another time
our brethren wanted to vote in Davies County, Missouri, and said they
would cast their votes and have their rights with other citizens;
whereupon Joseph was taken up for treason. Another time, he was taken up
on a charge of high treason; and when he came before the grand jury, his
enemies wanted to prove that he had more than one wife, asserting that
that was high treason.
Our enemies are constantly yelling "Rebellion! treason!" no matter
how peaceful, orderly, and loyal we may be. And now to come out in open
opposition to their cursed, corrupt practices, will of course be counted
treason. But let me tell you that the real, actual treason is committed
in Washington, by the administrators of our Government sending an army to
take the lives of innocent citizens. Every man is allowed by the
Constitution to have what religion he pleases and to profess what religion
he pleases. That liberty is guaranteed by the Constitution; "but you,
'Mormons,' an army must be sent against you, because you are Latter-day
Saints." Yes, an army must be sent to drive us from the earth.
There is high treason in Washington; and if the law was carried out,
it would hang up many of them. And the very act of James K. Polk in
taking five hundred of our men, while we were making our way out of the
country under an agreement forced upon us, would have hung him between the
heavens and the earth, if the laws had been faithfully executed. And now,
if they can send a force against this people, we have every constitutional
and legal right to send them to hell, and we calculate to send them there.
When I get over being angry, I may preach something else; but the
past travels and sufferings of this people through mobocracy are before
me.
I am not speaking of the Government, but of the corrupt
administrators of the Government. They make me think of a sign in New
York, upon which was lettered, "All manner of twisting and turning done
here." It is just so in Washington city; they can twist and turn in any
and every way, to suit their hellish appetites.
Were I an officer sent to Utah for the purpose of aiding the
unhallowed oppression of the innocent, (and in this connection I disclaim
all personalities,) I would know the facts in the case before I would
make any hostile move; and sooner than side with tyranny and murder, I
would resign my commission, and say, "Take it and stick it in your boot,
and go to hell, and I will go my way." And I would rather go and raise my
own potatoes for my wives and children than to hold office under such a
set of administrators and bow down to their wicked designs; though, if I
were of the world, I should probably do as the rest do.
I have already told you that the main cause of an army being now sent
here is a political scheme for the purpose of getting money out of the
United States treasury. Politicians and traders combine to lay plans, no
matter how devilish, for getting their hands into the treasury of the
United States, that they may have money with which to sow corruption and
gratify their debauched natures.
Some men do not realize what they are doing. I said, a few weeks
ago, that the deeds of some men are out of sight. Our merchants here have
fanned the flame, and what for? To peddle off my blood and yours for gold
and silver. Although that design may have been out of their sight, yet
such is the case; but they will not make money by the operation. Should
the crisis come, they will find themselves in poor pasture, with nothing
but greasewood and sage to feed upon. It will not do for them to sell us
for money; for we are worth more than the Methodist society was sold for
in Canada, where they were sold at three cents a head.
I am aware that you will want to know what will be the result of the
present movement against us. "Mormonism" will take an almighty stride
into influence and power, while our enemies will sink and become weaker
and weaker, and be no more; and I know it just as well now as I shall five
years hence. The Lord Almighty wants a name and a character; and he will
show our enemies that he is God, and that he has set to his hand again to
gather Israel, and to try our faith and integrity. And he is saying,
"Now, you, my children, dare you take a step to promote righteousness, in
direct and open opposition to the popular feelings of all the wicked in
your Government? If you do, I will fight your battles."
Our enemies had better count the cost; for if they continue to job,
they will want to let it out to sub-contractors, before they get half
through with it. If they persist in sending troops here, I want the
people in the west and in the east to understand that it will not be safe
for them to cross the Plains.
It has cost the Government hundreds of thousands of dollars more for
the Indians in other territories than it has in this; and I have saved the
Government hundreds of thousands of dollars, by keeping the Indians
peaceable in Utah. Hundreds of miles have the Indians travelled to see
me, to know whether they might use up the emigrants, saying--"they have
killed many of us; and they damn you and damn us, and shall we stand it?"
I have always told them to hold on, to stop shedding blood, and to live in
peace. But I have been told that the first company of packers that went
through here this season, on their way from california to the States, shot
at every Indian they saw between Carson Valley and Box Elder; and what has
been the result? Probably scores of persons have been killed; animals
have been taken from nearly all the emigrants that have passed on that
road; and the Indians in that region have now more stock than they know
how to take care of; and they come into settlements with their pockets
full of gold. The whites first commenced on the Indians; and now, if they
do not quit such conduct, they must stop travelling through this country;
for it is more than I can do to keep the Indians still under such
outrageous treatment.
The people do not realize what they have done by driving us into the
midst of the Lamanites. They prevented Joseph from associating with the
Indians; but they, through their ignorance, thought that we were going to
Vancouver's Island, or on the borders of the Pacific; but lo! they have
driven us into the midst of the Lamanites. These Lamanites begin to have
a knowledge of their forefathers, and they are cultivating the earth.
Here were the most degraded classes of Indians to be found; but now there
is not a tribe so enlightened, nor one that has so good a knowledge of its
real position and standing before the Lord as have some of these Utah
Indians. It is now very different with them to what it was when we first
came here. It is now becoming a universal practice with them to punish
the guilty, and not the innocent: they have been taught that from the
time we first came here. Talk with them, and you will learn that they
have a good deal of knowledge. They must be saved, for they are the
children of Abraham.
The Lord in his mercy has suffered our enemies to do that which we
could not have accomplished for many years; and, let a war commence, and
there is no knowing where we shall next land in Jackson County, Missouri.
They will learn that "Mormonism" is a living creature.
All the world have to learn that the Lord is God, and that he is the
God of his children. He will protect his anointed; he will defend his own
family; and all we have to do is to do his will; and every man, woman, and
child ought to seek to learn the will of God and do it. When that is the
case, we need not fear all earth and hell. Do not offend God by not doing
as he wants you to.
May the Lord God bless you, brethren and sisters. Amen.
SUPERIORITY OF PURE MOTIVES--ASCENDANCY OF THE KINGDOM
OF GOD--OBEDIENCE TO COUNSEL.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, September 20, 1857.
Brother Heber wants to know whether he has said anything wrong. So
far as I am concerned, and so far as the truth is concerned, he has not.
He is very careless in the use of language; but I do not so much care how
he or any of the brethren express their ideas, when their hearts are right
before God.
When we have only the one desire to promote the kingdom of God on the
earth, the people will be right.
Brother Heber is very full of comparisons; and I will liken brother
Heber's language to the conduct of some of this people. He talks just as
ideas happen to come into his mind; and some of the people act just as it
happens at the moment, not thinking what they do. And yet their desire is
to do right; and the greatest faults that most of them see in each other
arise through weakness and ignorance, and not through an evil design.
They desire to do right, just as brother Heber desires to talk as straight
as a line; but he has so long been in the habit of making his own
dictionary and using his words out of it, that it would be difficult for
him to change his style now.
No matter what the outward appearance is--if I can know of a truth
that the hearts of the people are fully set to do the will of their Father
in heaven, though they may falter and do a great many things through the
weaknesses of human nature, yet, they will be saved. You will hear among
such persons observations that appear very much out of the way; but, at
the same time, they will say that "it does seem that when I would try to
do good, and to do my best, evil will come before me."
If there is an outward appearance of mistakes or evils, we ought to
have the Spirit of the Lord to look at the designs of the actors, and know
whether they act from impure or sinister motives. If their motives are
pure--no matter whether their outward appearance is particularly precise,
their acts will be discerned by the Spirit of the Lord, and will be
appreciated for what they were intended. If people act from pure motives,
though their outward movements may not always be so pleasant as our
traditions would prefer, yet God will make those acts result in the best
good to the people.
I wish the people to know that they have to come to the position
that, in their feelings and affections, the kingdom of God must be all in
all to us. If we are not in that position, you will find that we will be
scourged and afflicted until we are. With us it must be the kingdom of
God all the time: it must be that or nothing. The time has come in which
that must be the common feeling with the Saints.
As to the world's being in fellowship with us, it never was and it
never can be. We cut off the Gentiles just before we left Nauvoo; and
they have cut us off from their fellowship. The thread is cut that has
hitherto connected us; and now we have to act for ourselves and build up
the kingdom of God on the earth, which we will do, by the help of the
Lord; for he has decreed that his kingdom shall take the ascendancy over
all other kingdoms under heaven.
It was observed by brother Spencer that the time had come for this
work to be making far more rapid strides than it has hitherto done. You
will find that it has not been by any act of our own that this thread has
been cut; but we will now have to sustain ourselves, or we will go under.
We have not desired it--we have not naturally wished for this crisis to
come; but inasmuch as it has come, if the people, in the strength of
Israel's God, sustain themselves, they will be be [sic] sustained.
If we are united, we are independent of the powers of hell and of the
world, which terms are synonymous with me. We are now free and easy; and
if we succumb to the wicked, our hearts sink within us and we sicken and
die; but when my feelings are decided that we will defend ourselves
against all who come here to destroy us or to oppose the establishment of
truth on the earth, I feel perfectly free and light as the air. Does
brother Spencer feel so? I presume that he does, and also that every
Saint feels as free as the mountain breezes.
I am free and easy, and I am not concerned about having too much
rest; though, when my feelings are at rest, and I have not an hundred tons
weight upon my shoulders, a feeling comes over me like this--"Are you not
becoming slothful? [sic-no quote] As soon as I have a good sound
reflection upon the matter, I feel to thank God that he will let me rest
at times, and not always require me to bear a burden like carrying a
hundred tons.
Be faithful; and if you are attentive to your duties, God will take
care of the rest.
We talk of enjoying, multiplying, and increasing in the things of
God. All that we can do is to prepare to receive anything that God may
see fit to give. I do not know but that I am just as well prepared to
receive revelations this morning as I shall be millions of years hence. I
do not know but that I shall be prepared to do the will of God, according
to my capacity, as well to-day or to-morrow as I shall be when I have
spent millions of years in his presence.
You hear people in the sectarian world talk about preparing to die;
but the religion that we have embraced teaches us to prepare to live. If
we were now going to exchange this world for another, I do not know but
that we are as well prepared as we shall be in years to come. I have felt
that I never should be better prepared to receive the glory of the
spirit-world than I am now, according to my present capacity. While
brother Heber was talking about our travels in 1834, I remember that
brother Joseph said the camp should be cursed. We had some wicked men in
the company, and Joseph discerned the spirits of those men, and said that
the camp should be cursed and that they should feel the heavy hand of the
Lord. Brother Heber came to me and said, "I do not know that I could have
done any better, even though it had been to save my natural life;" and he
did do well and continued to do so. And I will say that I do not know
that I can do any better than I am doing.
You and I may be ready to fight: we may be ready to plant seed, and,
if called upon, to cache grain in the mountains, and to do whatever the
Lord may require at our hands. Let us do whatever may be required. If we
are called upon to take our women and children into the mountains, let us
do that; if to burn, let us be on hand to burn; if to build more, let us
be on hand to burn; if to build more, let us do that; and whatever we are
required to do, let us do.
We called up a Bishop, the other night, to go on an express; and when
he came to my office, I said to him, "Brother Thomas, are you ready?" He
replied, "Yes." Though he did not know what was wanted of him, yet he was
ready. He asked, "When do you want me?" I replied, "Early to-morrow
morning" (now, yesterday morning); and he was there at the time--which is
the way that men should feel and act.
The main object of my present remarks has been to have the people
know whether they are taught right--to have them know whether they are
receiving the word of the Lord from this stand--to have them know whether
they are led right.
As to being afflicted, never fear that: only fear that you are not
living as well as you might, and then there is no danger. You know how
you have been led, and I can say that you try to walk in the path that
leads to improvement and purity and to never do a known evil. When you
know that an evil is before you, pass it by, and do that which tends to
good, and all will be right.
If you are not led right, or if you are afraid that you are not going
to be led right, just find out a better way; for that is your privilege,
if you are not already led right. And if you will live so as to know God
better than any other man, of find some one that knows God better, and of
whom you can learn more of God--a man that knows better how to dictate the
affairs of the Church, all will be right.
I wish that every man would live so that he could have communion with
angels--so that Jesus would come to visit him. I wish I could see this
people in such a position; but there is yet too much sin in our midst:
our traditions cling to us so strongly, that we cannot yet break through
into that liberty; but we will see the day, if faithful, in which we can
converse with angels. There are persons in this congregation that will
converse with angels just as freely as we converse with each other.
Be faithful, and God will not only fight for us, but he will also
lead us to victory. What has been said today is true. You know that
brother Heber almost always testifies to the truth of what he says; but I
do not care whether you think that what I say is true or not, for that
does not concern me. You may judge of the truth you hear to-day and of
that which you will hear in times to come; for we shall be judges of
ourselves as well as of our enemies, and we shall also judge angels. God
bless you! Amen.
ULTIMATE VICTORY OF THE SAINTS.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, October 4, 1857.
I will say a few words before the congregation is dismissed.
As but few can be in our offices to learn the news that is brought
in, I will say that on the 2nd, Friday last, a messenger arrived with
intelligence that the soldiers were going up Ham's Fork.
Previous to that I had sent by Lieutenant-General Wells a copy of the
Proclamation proclaiming martial law, and ordering the troops not to come
here. They treated it as I presumed they would. They say that they are
sent by the President, are subject to superior officers, and intend to
abide their instructions; and I expect that they will, until some other
power checks their progress.
The brethren are well, and the spirit of peace and contentment rests
upon them. They are doing their duties--living to and serving their God.
Keep the "'Mormon' creed," and especially just now in regard to the
remarks made by brother Spencer. Some may think they will have to deviate
in attending to digging their neighbours' potatoes; but this is now the
very business for the brethren to do. This is now their duty, and what
the brethren ought to do.
I do not know that anybody's heart burns, except it is to get a
little nearer to our enemies and for the troops to undertake to come in
here. Well, we are in the hands of the Lord our God, and he will overrule
things just as he pleases.
Many want to know what the result will be; and they want the Lord to
give them revelation. Get revelation, if you can. I have told you
before, and I can tell you now, that the result will be that "Mormonism"
will be higher and greater in power and influence than ever it was before.
Our enemies will sink, while we will increase in power and strength, and
enjoy an influence that we never enjoyed before; and the Lord will have
his own way in bringing about these things. I know that all will be made
right; and an allwise, overruling Providence will bring us off victorious.
He has led us to victory and peace, and has given us power and influence
that we can sustain ourselves; and I believe that it is the calculation of
all to sustain themselves against all that can come to annoy, destroy,
desolate, and drive the Saints of God. God will fight our battles; and he
will do it just as he pleases.
You know that it is one peculiarity of our faith and religion never
to ask the Lord to do a thing without being willing to help him all that
we are able; and then the Lord will do the rest.
The main object I had in coming to meeting this morning was to let
you know that my health is better. Last Sabbath I did not think it
prudent to come out; but I am at my post, and God is at the helm.
Let us walk in the precepts of our Saviour--those that he has marked
out for us, and God will bless us; and I bless you, my brethren and
sisters, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I mean to save my brethren and sisters, God being my helper. God
bless you! Amen.
ADVANTAGES OF TRIALS AND EXPERIENCE--REFORMATION OF CONDUCT, ETC.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at the Bowery,
Great Salt Lake City, Tuesday Morning, October 6, 1857.
Quite a goodly number have assembled to our Conference to transact
business in a Church capacity. We shall first present and attend to the
business, and then to such instructions, teachings, exhortations, &c., as
may come before the Conference.
I think there are quite a number of brethren present who have lately
returned from their fields of labour. We would like to have them come to
the stand, and we will give them the privilege of occupying a portion of
the time. I think brother Jacob Hoffheins has not been on the stand since
his return; and I see several others who have not.
We shall first present the authorities of the Church to the
Conference this morning, though such has not been our general practice. I
believe the brethren are pretty much in readiness, and have all got their
guns ready for shooting. We will first attend to the business, so that if
it is necessary to repair to the kanyons we can do so.
I do not know how long we shall hold this Conference, and therefore
no one needs to ask me. There is a time for all things; and I never saw a
better time than now to secure potatoes and other crops, and thus do our
preaching in the season thereof and digging potatoes in the season
thereof. And I could almost wish that our Conference would be dismissed
this morning, and all hands go and secure the potatoes, squashes, corn,
&c.
We have heretofore spent a great deal of time in Conferences
unmolested, and we shall again have a great deal of time to spend in this
capacity undisturbed. We must have what is good for us--that which puts
us in mind and brings to us principles that are free. Should we live in
peace, year after year, how long would it be before we were glued to the
world? Our affections would be so fastened to the things of the world
that it would be hard for us to spend little time in Conference; it would
be hard to go on missions; it would be contrary to our feelings to attend
to anything but our own individual concerns to make ourselves rich.
It seems to be necessary for the Lord to bring this people into
circumstances to show them that the things of this world are mere
nothingness in their present state--are but a shadow. They are to-day, and
to-morrow they are not. This shows to us that all things pertaining to
this world are subject to change, and such changes as we cannot control.
We find that kings are raised up and emperors placed in power, and then
they are hurled down. We see men who are popular, wealthy, and rich
become poor. History and our own experience prove all this, and that
riches take the wings of the morning and fly away. To-day we are
rich--to-morrow we are poor. Next week we may be rich, and the week after
poor again. It is the Lord that gives and the Lord that takes away; and
it is a blessing that we have the privilege of this experience in our
present condition.
Look at ourselves--run over our own experience, and we shall discover
that ourselves, our neighbours, our friends, our acquaintances, and all
people do not always know when they are happy. In other words, if you
could crowd an individual or a community into heaven without experience,
it would be no enjoyment to them. They must know the opposite: they must
know how to contrast, in order to prize and appreciate the comfort and
happiness, the joy and the bliss they are actually in possession of. Can
you realize this? How many there are who will exclaim, "If I had but
known it, I was happy in such a situation! How happy I might have been,
if I had only known that I was happy,"
You will see individuals who are easy and comfortable, that would
like to change their situations; and when they change, they find that they
have changed for the worse. They then turn round and say, "How happy I
could have been, if I had known how to appreciate my own happiness! I had
nothing to annoy me; I was in comfortable circumstances; I enjoyed good
health, and had all that I could ask for to make life desirable; but I did
not know at the time that I enjoyed one of the comforts of life."
Is that the experience of any of you? I know that it is of a great
many of you. Then learn to be happy when you have the privilege. For
many years we have had the privilege of living in peace and making
ourselves comfortable in these valleys of the mountains; and do you
recollect that but a short time ago it seemed as though almost every one
had wandered his own way? The people had almost forgotten and lost sight
of the principles of truth and righteousness, of the religion that we have
embraced, and the whole plan of salvation. They had almost lost sight of
the redemption of the nations of the earth, and each one had turned to his
own way. Can you recollect that situation of the people?
We have reason to be thankful that we have forsaken backslidings and
returned to the Lord in a great measure; but we are still far from being
as we should be, taking every individual, though the great majority of the
people are doing the best, or about as well as they know how. This I
believe with all my heart; and they feel very anxious to live so that they
can enjoy more and more of the knowledge of God: they are very anxious to
know how to obtain more of the revelations of Jesus Christ; and some are
fearful that the people are not doing right, and that they do not live up
to their privileges.
Some of the brethren were conversing in my office the other day, and
I discovered that a part of them had a great anxiety for us to know more
of godliness, and had a feeling that this people must do better--must more
strictly refrain from evil and walk more humbly before their God. I said
to them, "Brethren, I will take you for an example, with myself; and I
tell you, for one, that I do not know how to do any better than I do; and
if the Lord wants me to do any better, he must let me now it; for I cannot
do any better of myself. Can you say the same?" They said they could.
So it is with the people: the most of them are doing the best they know
how. There are a few who sin, and a few who will do wrong--to things that
they ought to be ashamed of. They are scarce: but there is once in a
while one of that class in this community; and we expect that there will
be, just so long as the wheat and the tares grow together. There is once
in a while one that we would like to be rid of--would love to have leave
us and this community.
It is astonishing that any should prefer to act wickedly, and yet
there is a reason for all this. We expect it--at least I do: I look for
it. I do not look for anything else but that there will be tares in the
field until the time of burning. I will just say, for your consolation
and mine, that I think the field is now pretty well weeded out, though the
roots are here, and they will spring up occasionally, and once in a while
things are done that are disgraceful. Some will do things that the Devil
would be ashamed of and would not think of doing. But I am thankful that
there are but few of that class here; and I pray that the evils may be
lessened and that the people may be purified before the Lord.
It is truth--it is God's truth--it is eternal truth, if people did
but know it, that it i